Found In Magic
by Kyree Winx
Summary: Sequel to Lost in Magic. After the death of their friend Bloom, the Winx decide to split up. But, Roxy's curiosity about a comment from Maya before the fatal battle brings about information that may change their minds, perhaps destiny itself.
1. Chapter 1

_**Found in Magic**_

_**By: Kyree Winx**_

Chapter 1- Loss and Disbanding

_Sky was fighting off demon after demon. But the damn things kept getting back up. He glanced toward the limp body of his beloved. A fierceness crept into his heart and he fought voraciously. Every demon and the damn woman Lilith would pay for the hell Bloom had been put through. Sky stabbed and lunged with his weapon, when he heard Lilith scream. Sky turned and saw Bloom and Lilith wrestling. He saw a look of determination in Bloom's eyes, as they kept glancing at the death portal. Sky felt a sudden fear. Bloom wouldn't, Sky thought to himself. No._

_Bloom grappled and somehow had maneuvered the fight near the portal. Then Bloom threw herself and Lilith into the portal. Lilith struggled and screamed, but Bloom held fast. As they fell the portal closed suddenly. Sky ran and fought past the demons toward the portal, but he knew it was no use. Bloom was dead and gone. Angst and sorrow ripped his heart and soul to shreds as he fell to his knees. Bloom was gone._

Sky woke up, gasping and sweating. He sat up and held his head in his hands. Then he looked at his clock. It read three a.m. "Shit." Sky closed his eyes tight as he felt tears coming. Today was the funeral for her. Bloom. It had been three weeks since the final battle with Lilith. Ever since Bloom went through the portal, Sky had been replaying the memory in his head, over and over. As much as he knew there had been nothing they could do, he felt he should've done something. "I shouldn't have agreed to let her go back to Sparks." Sky murmured.

Sky dragged himself out of bed and walked into his bathroom. He had a funeral to prepare for and a kingdom to run. He had no time for regret at that moment.

Miriam bustled about, busying herself with the…preparations. She tried not to think that this event would mark the funeral of her second child. No. if she did, she'd fall into an inconsolable state, as she'd been for the last two weeks.

"Your highness. These flowers just came in. They're from the Solarian court." The servant held a vase with beautiful sunflowers in it.

"Just…just set them over in the thrown room." Miriam forced the words out.

"Yes your majesty." The maid hurried away. Miriam turned and rushed outside. She needed fresh air. Once outside, she made her way to the garden. There she let it all out. She sobbed and cried.

"I killed my child." Miriam sobbed.

"Miriam." Oritel's voice sounded from behind her. Miriam hugged herself and turned toward him. He strode over and held her and Miriam just cried and let him hold her. "It wasn't our fault. Bloom threw herself into that portal."

"But we blamed her for Daphne's death! Oritel! If we hadn't done that…"

"There's no excuse for what we did." Oritel's tone was dark and filled with guilt and shame. "We condemned our own child. We should've known. But Bloom wouldn't want us, you, like this at all. Bloom was forgiving in everything that happened against her, and she wouldn't have blamed us in the end. She knew and understood our distress over Daphne. She knew, Miriam."

Miriam lay her head against Oritel's chest. She hadn't seen him cry over this once. Not once. But she knew he cried. She knew he'd loved Bloom dearly, though they'd missed much of her life. Oritel wouldn't cry in front of her. He felt the need to be strong for her, for the universe, and once upon a time for his children. Miriam loved him for that. It was that need for strength Bloom had inherited from her father. It was that need for strength that had made Bloom want to go to the Prima. In the end, that need to be strong forced Bloom to sacrifice herself for everyone. The universe, her parents, and her friends.

"The funeral will start soon." Oritel whispered the words gently. Miriam nodded and pulled away from her husband. Oritel leaned down and kissed her gently, then turned to finish his part of the preparations.

"Oritel." Miriam called. Oritel turned toward her. "Things will never be the same. I'll forever live with this regret." Oritel said nothing and turned back to do his duties.

Stella stood outside as people were giving King Oritel and Queen Miriam their condolences. She had cried all through the Ceremony of Extinguishment. The Winx all sat with her and they too cried profusely. Their best friend had strove once again to save the universe, and she paid with her life.

Stella felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find Brandon. "Hey." Brandon pulled her close and Stella hugged him tight. Glancing over Brandon's shoulder, Stella spotted Layla standing alone. Stella hugged Brandon tighter; thinking about Layla and how alone she would feel now made Stella want to cry more.

Stella pulled away from Brandon's embrace and walked outside. She felt a presence next to her and saw Layla. Layla's eyes, like each of the girls', were tinted red after so much crying. They walked out and met up with the other girls under a tree on the palace grounds. They all stood in uncomfortable silence. Flora was still crying, tears streaming down her face. Roxy hugged her. Musa stood stoically, her arms crossed in an attempt to make them think she'd kept her cool. Tecna had been silent since the day Bloom had died. She stood and stared at the ground.

Stella finally spoke. "We've come because we have business to attend to." The Winx all looked at her in surprise. "The Winx Club was instituted and led by Bloom for five years now. Bloom is dead. We have no leader and we aren't strong enough to take on the evil of the universe ourselves."

"What are you saying?" Roxy looked at Stella, frowning. The others looked at Stella with looks of confusion and sadness.

"We could never defeat evils stronger than Lilith. Bloom's always fought the worst of the evils and she's taken them down every time. Now she's gone and we're all that's left." Stella bit her lip to keep herself from having another outburst of tears.

"So. Now what?" Musa asked quietly.

"We disband the Winx Club." Stella whispered. All the Winx girls looked at her. Flora began to sob, and Roxy began to console her. They fell into the uncomfortable silence again, with the only sound being the moans and sniffles of Flora. Finally, Tecna spoke for the first time in three weeks.

"She's correct. It is both proper and necessary to dissolve the faction that we called the Winx Club. We'll never be capable of defeating evils worse than Lilith." Tecna turned her back on the Winx girls. "I'll suppose this is the termination of our group. I'll say it first. Goodbye." With that said, Tecna was the first to break away from the Winx Club. Musa just turned and walked in another direction, no goodbye or anything. Flora pulled away from Roxy and ran off. Roxy looked at the ground and strode off. Layla gave Stella a long sad look and waved. Then she too walked off.

Stella felt her lip trembling. She wanted to cry out, to tell her friends to come back. But she knew that the Winx Club was over. She fell to her knees and sat there in the grass, until Brandon finally found her.

"Stella. Let me take you home." Brandon gently helped Stella to her feet. Stella stopped and turned back to the tree. From her purse she pulled out a small pouch. She opened it and dumped the contents onto the grass before her. Shards of the Scepter of Solaris fell into the grass. Stella stared at them for a minute.

"Goodbye, Bloom." Stella whispered. Then she turned back to Brandon and together they headed back to the palace of Sparks.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Dealing with Loss and Memory

Flora sat quietly in her room on her home planet of Lynphea. The Winx Club was no more, Bloom was no more…it just wasn't fair. All that they'd ever done for the universe was good, and their repayment was some form of loss. It'd been that way ever since they'd left Alfea.

Flora laughed then. At Alfea, they'd always won in the end. No loss, no tears…the bad guy just went down. But as soon as they fight evil in the real world, the evil seems to be harder to beat, near impossible even. Flora guessed they had gotten their confidence too high and they'd felt near invincible. Lilith just threw matters back into perspective for the Winx.

What was Flora saying? The Winx was no more and never would be. She had to stop calling herself and her friends Winx.

There was a small knock on her door and she saw Rose's head pop in. "Flora? Are you okay?"

Flora smiled at her younger sister. "Yes, Rose. I'm alright."

"Oh, okay. So your boyfriend can come in?" Rose's eyes sparkled with amusement. Flora felt her cheeks flush.

"Yes. Helia can come in." Flora stood up and walked over to the door. Outside her room she saw Helia standing and waiting.

"Your handmaiden insisted I wait to meet you, my lady." Helia said mockingly.

" Oh dear sir, please do come join me." Flora smiled. Helia bowed and kissed her hand, making Rose squeal in delight and disgust. Rose then rushed off to go play. Helia pulled Flora to him and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I heard about the Winx. Flora, I'm sorry." Helia whispered. Flora just hugged him and pulled him into her room.

"It wasn't your fault, so don't apologize. Us girls felt it was wrong to continue without Bloom you know." Flora sat on her bed. Helia just crossed his arms.

"And that's a reason to stop talking to or see each other?"

Flora just bowed her head. "We're all very upset Helia."

Helia sighed. "I understand that Flora. But us guys didn't stop being friends to one another after Nabu died." Helia looked out the window. "Roxy came to me upset last week. She found me at Red Fountain, you know. She'd gone straight back to Alfea after the funeral. But she hasn't heard anything at all from you girls, so now she feels alone and upset. Flora…she needs you girls with her. She had a strong bond to Bloom because of their similar life stories. And now that she's lost her only confident, she has basically no one."

Flora stared at Helia in horror. "She feels alone? Poor Roxy." Flora hugged herself. "I'll go to see her right away!"

Helia grinned. "That's my girl." He stood up to leave.

"You're leaving so soon?" Flora rushed over and grabbed his arm. Helia stopped and grabbed Flora's hands.

"I have another mission to get going on. I didn't want to leave Roxy alone like this, so I had to stop in and tell you." Helia leaned in and kissed Flora. "I'm sorry I can't stay."

Flora smiled. "Go be a hero. The guys will need you on the mission."

Helia squeezed Flora's hands and walked away. Flora watched him leave and then went to get her purse. She had to go and see Roxy.

Roxy hugged her knees as she reviewed her last memories of Bloom again. She knew she should just let Bloom go, but it hurt far too much. Tears filled her eyes and she let them fall. Eventually she'd stop crying, right?

"Oh…not again Roxy!" Zing flew over and settled on Roxy's shoulder. Roxy nuzzled the pixie. "Look. Bloom wouldn't want you to be crying over her all the time. She'd want you to be stronger than that."

Roxy nodded. "Yeah, you're right Zing." Roxy snatched her pillow from the head of her bed and buried her face in it. She let out a high pitched scream and dropped the pillow on the floor. Zing looked at Roxy.

"Feel better?" Zing asked.

"A little." She'd probably never feel entirely better. Sure there was those temporary cures for the loss, but the emptiness would never go away. Roxy just sighed and stood up. She walked to the door of her dorm room. Maybe she'd feel better with the other Alfea students. All this loneliness would do her no good. Just like Helia had told her last week. Roxy opened the door and entered the common area of the dorms.

"Roxy!" Clarisse, one of the many Alfea students, waved her over. Roxy gave the girl a smile and walked over.

"What's up?" Roxy asked. No doubt this was gossip about a boy. Clarisse always had random crushes on guys.

"I've got the greatest news! There's this new guy going to Red Fountain and he's like a wizard! Rumor says he's getting special lessons from Saladin. What's the great news you ask? He's like so hot he's near divine!"

Roxy jerked her gaze back to Clarisse. "Say that again?" Roxy stared at Clarisse. Something was tugging at the back of her mind. Something she'd come across before.

"I said he's so hot he's near divine." Clarisse looked at Roxy. "Oh I can tell you're interested now! His name is Aiden…"

"Sorry, Clarisse I've got to go!" Roxy was on her feet in seconds running off, leaving Clarisse to stare after her in utter confusion.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Missions and Roxy

Musa tapped the keys of her keyboard, listening to the notes, allowing them to fill her mind and her heart. She found herself playing yet another sad song and stopped playing abruptly. "Stupid music." Musa mumbled to herself.

"It's not stupid." Musa heard a voice coming from the door of her room. Musa turned and saw Layla leaning against the door frame. Layla walked over and Musa threw her arms around her friend. "I know it's hard, but we've got to let them go." Layla said.

She said them, Musa thought to herself. Layla was still trying to get over Nabu, and now she had to get over Bloom too. "I'll be okay. It surprises me that you're so cool and collected, after all that's happened to you specifically." Musa pulled out of the friendly embrace and gazed at her friend.

Layla just shrugged. "They're gone and that's that. We can't spend our lives mourning them. We need to enjoy what time we still have." A look of sadness filled Layla's eyes.

"When we started Alfea, I was carefree and unburdened by the idea of dying. I know I'd suffered the death of my mother and everything, but I never thought I could die so young until Bloom and Nabu did." Musa sighed and hugged herself.

Layla nodded and sat on Musa's bed. "We're no longer the invincible Winx Club of our school days. We're as vulnerable to evil as every other person in the universe."

"It's sad to think that we once thought we could do anything as long as we worked together. Win the battles, beat the evil, fall in love…anything is no longer a possibility, I guess." Musa sat next to Layla. They sat there together in silence letting Musa's words settle in. All their lives, they'd been told by friends, family, and teachers that possibilities were endless. How wrong they were.

"I came because Flora called me. Roxy is feeling lonely at Alfea." Layla fell back on Musa's bed and stared at the ceiling. "I was told to get you and bring you with. Roxy needs us."

Musa began fiddling with the ends of her long-blue pigtails. "We're no longer the Winx Club though. What's Flora trying to pull?"

"That's what I thought. We've got no leader, and we just don't have the strength or ability to take on these great evils." Layla looked at Musa.

"Flora was really upset when we split." Musa thought for a second. "Does not being the Winx Club not make us friends as well? If you think about it, it seems rather ridiculous, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. I guess it does." Layla stood up and headed for the door. "Let's go. We can go see Roxy. Because we're her friends and not the Winx Club."

Musa nodded and turned off her electronic keyboard. "Alright. Let's go comfort Rox."

Riven checked the readings on the dash board. The Specialists had been presented with a new ship, courtesy of the King and Queen of Sparks, because their previous ship had been destroyed landing on Oblivion. The ship was nice, top of the line defense systems, state of the art scanning systems, and a set of impressive laser blast cannons. But he didn't give a damn about the ship. In his book, they'd failed their mission of returning the Sparks princess to her family. Instead she died, saving the universe from the bitch Lilith.

" Scanning systems say it's all clear. The weather's good for flying. No sign of the enemy either." Timmy tapped a few buttons on his section of dash board.

"We shouldn't see any opposition until we've collected the objective." Helia leaned back casually in his seat.

"Doesn't hurt to check." Timmy muttered.

"What do we know about our the objective?" Riven asked. While being briefed, Riven only heard the part about him leading the mission. Anything that came after that statement was useless to him.

"We're to deliver a set of scrolls to the Museum of Magix. They're supposed to be examined by some wizards there, in hopes that someone will be able to read them." Helia said.

"Nobody can read them?" Riven looked back at Helia. Helia nodded.

"They don't even know what language they're written in. The scrolls were found in the tomb of Cassandra of Myridia. She was a prophetess who'd lived some six hundred years ago and was well known for her prophecies because they always came true. They believe she had written them, but how she'd known the unknown language has baffled all the greatest magic users in the universe." Timmy glanced at Riven. "You don't really care do you?"

"Nah. I'm just bored. Myridia is really far away." Riven glanced again at the universal positioning system.

"How are you and Musa doing?" Helia asked.

Riven didn't say anything. He and Musa hadn't gotten anywhere in their relationship. They honestly hadn't even talked since the Ceremony of Extinguishment on Sparks. Riven wanted to comfort her, but he was afraid he'd do something bull-headed and ruin what they already had. "We're okay. I guess." Riven just shrugged, though he really was bothered by the situation.

"Okay, in Riven speak, he doesn't have a clue." Timmy grinned at Helia.

"Alright. We may have come to a standstill, okay?" Riven snapped.

"It's to be expected. It's too soon for you two to go steady again." Helia said. Riven felt some relief. It made sense.

"Myridia is straight ahead." Timmy announced. Riven pushed his problems with Musa into the back of his mind and focused on the mission at hand. He'd try to talk with Musa once his mission was complete.

Tecna walked into the Alfea school and glanced around. Roxy had to be around here somewhere. She strolled up to a pair of students who were chattering about a boy. "Hello there. Have either of you two seen a girl named Roxy?"

The students blinked at her. Finally one spoke. "Umm, yeah, she, like, went to the Red Fountain School. She was looking around in the Alfea library for something, but it wasn't there. The librarian told her to go to the Red Fountain library and check."

Tecna thought about this. There weren't many books the Alfea library didn't carry. She'd read most of them herself in her school years. "Thank-you." Tecna headed to the entrance, where she bumped into Flora and Stella.

"Hi Tecna." Flora smiled.

"Roxy isn't here. Apparently she couldn't find anything in the Alfea library and headed off to the Red Fountain library." Tecna examined her friends closely. They both appeared to be uncomfortable being there.

"Why would she go there?" Stella wondered. "I mean, the librarian never had us go to the Red Fountain school for a book."

"That is what I thought." Tecna said. She spotted Layla and Musa jogging up to them.

"Hey!" Musa stopped to catch her breath. "Where's Rox?"

"Not here. She had to go to Red Fountain for a book." Flora said.

"Okay, so we go to Red Fountain to see her. If we're lucky we'll run into her on her way back." Layla shrugged.

They all agreed and transformed into their Believixes. Using their Speedix wings they flew off in the direction of the Red Fountain School for heroics and bravery. All the while Tecna kept thinking how strange it was for Roxy to go to the Red Fountain School for a book. Most of the Red Fountain library books were books on fighting skills, strategies, and computer science. Only a select few made reference to magic, and none of the Red Fountain boys read those. Tecna continued to think about those facts as they made their way to Red Fountain in search of their friend.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Roxy's "Boyfriend"

Roxy stalked through the Red Fountain library, searching in vain for a title that may have had something to do with her subject. All the books the Red Fountain seemed to carry only subjects on heroic matters. Why would that librarian send her here if there weren't any magic books?

"_Excuse me, miss?" Roxy walked up to the information desk of the Alfea school library. "Would you know if there were any books pertaining to Divine Fairies?"_

_The woman glanced up at Roxy. She was beautiful. She wore a gray business suit that seemed to have an aura of wisdom about it. The woman's gray eyes looked kindly at Roxy. "You won't find anything here child. Well, possibly minor references. Your answers and an ally await you at Red Fountain, my dear."_

_Roxy stared at the woman. "I'll find a book on magic at Red Fountain?"_

"_I never said a book." The woman stood up with an impossible grace and walked away from the information desk._

The woman was really strange and beautiful. Maybe that was one of her classmates playing a prank on her. She had a hell of a time trying to fit in at Alfea.

Roxy was so busy musing that she walked straight into a boy carrying an armload of books. She stumbled and landed on her butt as books rained down on her. One smacked her right in the head and she let out a yelp.

"What do you stupid hero jerks want to do to me now!" The boy was yelling when he spotted Roxy on the floor. "Oh jeese! I'm really sorry!"

"Hero jerks?" Roxy mumbled rubbing her head. Roxy glanced at the boy. He stood a whole head taller than her. His icy green eyes were gorgeous and perfectly accentuated his dark brown hair, which was cut in a short style so the bangs barely swept his eye lashes. His skin tone was none too pale, but not the over tan look most Red Fountain boys sported because of their outdoor training. She pushed herself to her feet and helped the boy to pick up his books. She noted that they were all magic books. "These are magic books. Why would you be looking through magic books?" Roxy asked the boy.

"What is an Alfea student doing looking for books at the Red Fountain library." The boy shot back.

"Well, maybe you can help me." Roxy held out her hand. "My name is Roxy."

The boy looked at her hand then glanced at his armload of books.

"Oh sorry. "Roxy pulled her hand back. "Well, I came here because a librarian at Alfea said I could find out about Divine Fairies here."

"Divine Fairies?" The boy glanced at Roxy.

"Yeah. I thought it seemed weird too." Roxy shrugged.

"How did you hear about them?" The boy set his books down on the floor.

"Well, a friend of mine mentioned them before she…"Roxy bit her lip, "…died. Well technically not her but her mentor, who like knows lots about her apparently."

"Oh. I'm sorry your friend died." The boy looked at the floor, then looked up at Roxy and held out his hand. "My name is Aidan. I'm studying the Theistic Wizards, the male counterparts of the Divine Fairies."

"So you'd know some stuff about the Divine Fairies!" Roxy sounded excited.

"Well. Yeah." Aidan looked around the library. "How about we go to Magix for lunch and I'll tell you what you want to know."

"Sure!" Roxy smiled. "This is really important to me. So ,like, umm, thanks!"

"We missed her again!" Layla groaned. All the Winx were now standing in the courtyard of the Red Fountain School. They'd stopped a couple of Specialists and asked if they'd seen a pink haired girl running around the school library.

"I guess." A Specialist just shrugged. "We saw the girl walk out with Saladin's pet, Aidan."

"Aidan?" Stella stared at the boy. "Who's Aidan?"

"He's this wizard kid from, what was it? Oh yeah. Crystallis." The Specialist sneered at the name of the planet.

"What's wrong with Crystallis? I had a boyfriend from there once." Stella looked at the other girls and they shrugged. The boy just walked away from the girls and they all turned to one another. "So now what?" Stella asked.

"Roxy has a boyfriend! How sweet!" Flora got a dreamy look on her face. Layla almost gagged.

"We could try to find her in Magix." Musa suggested.

"And interrupt her date?" Stella threw a glare at Musa.

"I didn't say interrupt, your royal deafness. You assumed it." Musa glared back.

"We could just see this guy. I mean, we want Roxy to be with a good one." Layla stood between the glare pair and looked at her other friends.

"Too bad Bloom's not here. She would've loved to stop Stella from playing matchmaker." Musa said sarcastically. Stella harrumphed and crossed her arms.

"I think we should go and see this boy." Tecna said. "As Roxy's friends it's our duty to interrogate the boy and ensure he's a good match for Roxy." Tecna had the hint of a smile playing on her lips. All the girls grinned at one another.

"So, to Magix?" Layla actually felt a giddiness, despite the events from the past few months.

"To Magix!" All the girls ran for the bus stop near the Red Fountain entrance.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- The "Date"

Aidan glanced again at the girl sitting across from him at the café. She was cute with her pink hair and violet eyes. He'd only noticed earlier that the tips of her hair were blonde which seemed rather unique.

"So what do you know about the Divine Fairies?" Roxy asked him. Aidan began to think back to his research.

"Well, both the Fairies and the Wizards were created in the beginning of the universe. The very first fairy, of course, was Arcadia. But soon after the two counterparts were born." Aidan noted that Roxy was really into the conversation.

"So they were created by the Great Dragon, right?" Roxy looked at Aidan as though she were challenging him to prove her wrong.

"The Fairies, yes. The Wizards, no. The Wizards were instead created by the powers of the water stars. It kind of makes sense with the two being counterparts and all. Both were made for the same purpose though."

"What was that?" Roxy leaned in over the table.

"Destiny. Both counterparts were created to aid Fate and bring Destiny to pass. They appear to some of the greatest destiny bearers at times to explain the importance that a destiny be fulfilled. Very few have actually run into either counterpart and if they have, they usually don't even know it." Aidan bit into the sandwich he'd ordered. Roxy didn't even touch her food. "What is it?"

'According to the mentor, my friend had been healed by the Divine Fairies. I tried to ask what she meant, but my question wasn't exactly answered due to the momentum of events." Aidan saw Roxy close her eyes tight.

"Jeesh. Your friend must've had some destiny to fulfill. Not to seem obnoxious, but who was your friend?" Aidan felt like hitting himself. He was prying when obviously the girl was upset.

"Well, she was the princess of Sparks." Roxy stirred the ice in her glass with her straw.

"No way. Bloom of Sparks?" Aidan couldn't believe it. The Red Fountain boys talked about Bloom and her friends the Winx Club as though they were legendary. "Wait, so you're Roxy from the Winx Club?"

"Yes. Well, I used to be until the group decided to split." Roxy just shrugged.

"You guys split? Why?" Aidan felt like smacking himself again. He really took the stupid pills today. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that."

"Maybe talking about it will help. I tried to discuss it with a pixie, but sometimes they don't understand human compassion. We split because of Bloom's death. It shook the Winx to the very core and we felt incapable of going on as a group. We just went our ways." Roxy wrapped her arms about her.

"Splitting up must've been really hard on you because of how new you were." Aidan allowed the insight to settle between them.

"Well, I'd just been invited to join the Winx Club. Not that it mattered either way, but it felt good to belong. Then, within days of the acceptance, it was all just ripped away! Everything that had made being a fairy worth anything was torn away from me. I wanted to go home at first, but then I began to think. Bloom wanted me to be a good fairy, so I didn't want to let her down, you know." Roxy sniffed.

"You really needed to talk about it, huh?" Aidan handed Roxy a napkin. Roxy wiped at the tears.

"Yeah, I guess." Roxy looked at the table. There was a period of silence, then Roxy spoke up again. "What made you want to study the Theistic Wizards?"

Aidan sat back. "Well, they actually came to me. I was a small child when they did."

"They actually came to you?" Roxy stared in amazement.

"Yes. They said I would help with the impossible, then they were gone. I knew I couldn't have imagined them. I wasn't that creative for a five-year old. So I began to ask questions. My parents thought I'd lost my mind, but my grandmother didn't . In fact it was she who helped me to discover who they were." Aidan said.

"Wow. So you've studied them ever since?" Roxy smiled at him.

"Yeah. I just want to know what they meant. I'll help with the impossible. Does that even make any sense?" Aidan looked at Roxy for an answer.

"Possibly?" Roxy shrugged. "I'm no good with riddles."

"Yeah, me neither." Aidan stood up and paid for his meal. Roxy followed suit and the two of them left the café. They were strolling along when Aidan saw the Museum of Magix. "Hey, I wonder if they've finally gotten those scrolls in."

"Scrolls?" Roxy raised an eyebrow.

"I'm really into old stuff, okay? You wanna check and see with me?" Aidan asked.

"Sure." Roxy followed him and they entered the Museum of Magix. The museum was rather crowded around a particular exhibit, so Aidan pushed his way through the people to see.

"These are the Mystery Scrolls of Cassandra of Myridia. She was famous for her prophecies, so when she wrote a set of scrolls that nobody could read, the universe went berserk. The figured she'd written them in some future language or some super ancient language, dead to civilization. So they've been studying the scrolls, hoping someone could try and identify the language and solve the mystery." Aidan felt excitement rush through him.

"Sounds really strange. How would she have known the language herself?" Roxy pressed her hands against the glass and gazed at the scrolls.

"No one knows." Grinning, Aidan glanced down at the scrolls and observed the texts. Then Aidan felt his grin fall and the blood drain from his face.

"Aidan? Are you okay?" Roxy grabbed Aidan's arm and dragged him out of the crowd. "Aidan? You're scaring me."

Aidan shook his head and looked at Roxy. "Roxy."

"What is it?" Roxy grabbed him by the shoulders.

Aidan couldn't believe it. His head was spinning and his mind was racing. It was impossible. It just couldn't be. "Roxy. Roxy, I could read the writing on the scrolls."

Timmy watched the crowds for any suspicious characters. He and the Specialists were halfway through their mission. Phase one: obtain and deliver the Mystery Scrolls to the Museum of Magix, where they will be put on display, and later examined by scholars. Phase two: guard the scrolls as the public observes and enjoys the displaying of the scrolls. Phase three: retrieve the scrolls after the scholars have examined them thoroughly, then return them to the Myridian government. Not exactly one of their more complicated missions, but Timmy still took the mission seriously.

Riven, on the other hand, wasn't taking the mission seriously at all. He continually complained about being bored and several times he'd turned his attention away from the task. Timmy was relieved Helia would be taking the night watch. Riven would've probably just left the scrolls to take a nap or something. Riven just wasn't one for the guarding part of missions. He preferred the fighting and driving aspects of the hero's job to the more diplomatic or patience-necessary aspects.

Timmy spotted Roxy and a boy making their way over to the scroll display. Timmy elbowed Riven and pointed out the couple. Roxy glanced at the scrolls and lost interest quickly. The boy, however, looked excited until he looked at the scrolls. The boy grew pale, and Roxy grabbed him and dragged him away from the display. They stood there for a few moments, then the boy said something. Roxy just looked at the boy, then grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the museum.

"What do you think that was about?" Riven mused.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen that reaction from a visitor before." Timmy looked toward the scrolls, then toward the door.

"Maybe he ate something funny?" Riven suggested, then turned his attention back to not paying attention. Timmy shook his head then began to watch the scrolls again.

"Maybe." Timmy muttered.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- After Death

He wandered through the death realm, his heart heavy and his soul weary. They wouldn't allow him to pass on, they said his destiny wasn't yet fulfilled. Those Wizards kept telling him to hang on, not to let go. But he had no idea how he was going to hang on.

The death realm was an accursed place. It was here where one was judged. Here, souls waiting for judgment or souls deemed incapable of being judged were left to wander aimlessly. In this _Limbo_, souls mourn for their past lives and their future fates. It was here where he was told to wait. The only change was the increase and decrease of souls as they were brought into and taken from the death realm.

He wandered through the death realm. Aimlessly. There was nothing to him, but the sorrow for his own past life. The life that he'd given up because it had been the right thing to do. He'd been left without any hope.

Time earlier (he had given up on keeping track of time, for time was immeasurable here) a strange event had happened. There was a light, and he'd felt it. He'd felt life. Some time after that, the light had happened again. Then there were no more. Ever since, he'd been searching for the sources of light. Hope had renewed his spirit and he searched for them.. But time had passed and still he had not found the source. He meant to ask the Theistic Wizards when they came to him again, but they hadn't come since before the first light.

Strangely, the other souls hadn't been affected by the lights, as far as he could tell. They continued their wandering and mourning. He'd been the only one to notice them at all. This discouraged him some. What if they were some natural occurrence here in the death realm? He'd be hoping for nothing. But then he'd fought logic with logic. Wasn't that all they did in real life? Hope constantly for nothing? Nothing being popularity, material items, money; things that wouldn't matter at all in the end. Yet, those nothings somehow gave the soul purpose. Was it so wrong for him to hope for the lights to be something? What did he have to lose?

So here he was, a worn, heavy-hearted soul, searching. He would search, perhaps in vain. But he would search. It gave him purpose in this accursed death realm. And if he found the source of the lights perhaps there was still a chance…

…a chance he could go back to the love and the life he'd sacrificed.

Oritel held his head in his hands. He felt like a monster, a demon, after the fate of his last child. First his beautiful Daphne, and now his spirited Bloom. Both had fallen to orders he'd made. He'd ordered Daphne to save Bloom and the Dragon Fire. He'd ordered Bloom's arrest. Both orders led to their downfalls.

Oritel gazed at a stack of books on his desk. Then he shoved them off angrily. He'd tried so hard to be a good leader to the planet of Sparks. But in his attempt to be a good leader, he'd abandoned trying to be a good father. Bloom had been his second chance and he'd failed.

Oritel collapsed into his chair. His gaze lifted to the pictures on his desk. Bloom's beautiful face smiled up at him. He reached and lay the pictures flat on the desk. He couldn't bear to see those eyes.

"Your majesty?" Vladimir stood at the doorway.

"Vladimir. What is it?" Oritel stared at him.

"You and your wife are scheduled to visit Earth." Vladimir reminded him. Oritel clenched his jaw. Vanessa and Mike had to be told. Oritel nodded.

"Tell my wife I'll be with her shortly." Oritel stood and cleared his mind best he could in attempt to compose himself. Then he left his study and met his wife downstairs.

Miriam stood patiently. She gazed at him and nodded. Oritel focused his powers and a portal opened before them. They stepped from the palace of Sparks into a street of Gardenia.

"How will they ever forgive us, Oritel?" Miriam's lip trembled. Oritel said nothing. What had happened to Bloom was unforgivable. He would never forgive himself so why should they forgive him? Oritel knocked softly on the door. It opened and before them stood the Earth couple.

"Your Highnesses!" Vanessa smiled warmly and gave a slight bow. Oritel's facial expression remained grim.

"Has something happened?" Mike asked. He'd caught Oritel and Miriam's expressions.

"Let's go inside." Miriam suggested quietly. They entered the small house. Then Oritel told the tale of Bloom's demise. The reactions were natural.

"NO!" Vanessa cried. Mike held her close and looked at Oritel. Oritel just turned his gaze away and Mike too began to cry. "Bloom! No! It's not right!" Vanessa sobbed. Miriam had tears streaming down her face and Oritel fought off his own.

"We held a funeral for her. We would have come to you sooner, but…" Oritel just stopped and cleared his throat.

"Will you leave us…please." Mike asked quietly. Oritel nodded and grabbed Miriam by the arm. The two of them exited the house. Miriam whimpered and Oritel pulled her close. He opened a return portal to Sparks and led her through. Once on Sparks, Miriam broke down again in his arms. Oritel could do basically nothing, just hold her and fight off his own emotions so he was strong for Miriam. He'd failed at all else.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7- Meaning and Awkwardness**_

_**Roxy paced back and forth in her Alfea dorm room. After Aidan's revelation and some discussion, the two had decided to return to their respective schools. What could they do? Roxy suggested that Aidan should go to the Museum officials and tell them, but Aidan wanted otherwise. He didn't want to end up as a laughing stock or a freak show. Roxy could understand.**_

_**Letting Aidan's talent go unchecked didn't bother Roxy so much, though. Aidan just wanted to be a normal wizard guy. Like how Roxy wanted to be a normal girl on Earth. Roxy could respect that. It's what Aidan had read in the scrolls that drove Roxy nuts.**_

"_**You could read the writing on the scrolls?" Roxy stared at Aidan. "Aidan, that's amazing. We should go to the museum officials and tell them! Aidan! You'll crack one of the greatest mysteries in the universe!"**_

"_**No!" Aidan shook his head. "I don't want to go to the museum officials."**_

"_**Why not?" Roxy stopped and glanced at Aidan confused. Aidan had a chance at greatness.**_

"_**I want a normal life, ok? I don't want to be examined and pointed at, known only because I could read stupid scrolls. I want to be a wizard of great achievement, of my own making. Roxy I'm not going to stupid museum officials."**_

_**Roxy felt bad then. "I understand. That's how I felt on Earth. I just wanted an ordinary life, then boom. I was the fairy princess of Tyr Nan Og." Roxy looked at Aidan. "Sorry." Roxy added.**_

"_**It's okay." Aidan shifted uncomfortably. "Roxy. There's something I think you should know about the scrolls."**_

"_**Yeah?" Roxy looked at Aidan.**_

"_**Well, you probably won't believe me." Aidan laughed nervously.**_

_**Roxy snorted, then covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Please. If I can believe I'm the princess fairy of Tyr Nan Og and that you can read those unreadable scrolls, I think I can believe whatever you have to say about the scrolls. If there has been one thing I've learned in the last few months, it's that I need to believe more." She smiled at Aidan.**_

"_**Well, Roxy, the scrolls mentioned something about your friend."**_

"_**My…friend." Roxy nodded, urging Aidan to be more specific.**_

"_**Your friend, Bloom."**_

_**Roxy nearly collapsed. "Bloom? But, what about her? She's dead, gone!" Roxy stared at the ground.**_

"_**The only thing I read was her name. It popped out at me, several times, then I panicked. I'm sorry I couldn't read more." Aidan looked sorry.**_

"_**It's okay. Maybe we should head back now." Roxy suggested. Aidan hurriedly agreed and the two went their ways.**_

**Roxy shook her head. Now what? What should she do? Bloom was dead, but some prophetic scrolls had made reference to her. What did it all mean? Roxy paced for a few seconds more, then made her decision. She grabbed her cellphone and dialed.**

**It was time to call the ex-Winx girls.**

**Stella grumbled to herself as she and the girls made their last search for Roxy. They'd gone to Alfea, then to Red Fountain, and now here they were running through Magix in search of the impossibly invisible Roxy. Boy, the girl got around though. She must've spent her whole day traveling!**

"**Stella? Can we stop? These heels are killing me." Musa moaned.**

"**Heh. How do we fight evil in those things?" Layla joked.**

"**Uh, duh! We fly." Stella collapsed on a bench. Flora sat next to her. Musa and Layla just plopped down on a nearby patch of grass. Tecna leaned against a tree.**

"**Well, we haven't gotten even close to finding Roxy." Musa grinned. "That girl sure knows how to fall of Tecna's radar."**

"**She didn't fall off my radar! I just couldn't get a lock on her power readings." Tecna crossed her arms indignantly.**

"**It's okay Tecna. When I asked the trees, they pointed us to an army of squirrels." Flora winced as she said squirrels. Stella sniggered.**

"**How was your search of the malls, being that you claimed to KNOW them better than anyone?" Tecna asked Stella.**

**Stella sighed emphatically. "Zilch at the mall. But when I stopped in at a café, a waitress said she saw Roxy and a guy having lunch."**

"**And not some random chick with pink hair?" Layla questioned.**

"**I hinted about the blonde tipped bangs! Jeesh." Stella harrumphed.**

"**Kinda like old times, huh? You all teasing each other." Flora commented. All the girls fell silent then. Awkwardness filled the spaces. Flora sighed. "Look, girls we're still friends. Just because of Bloom's death we don't have to be awkward around each other. I just hate it!" Flora hugged herself.**

**Stella hugged Flora then. "Sorry. I didn't want awkwardness."**

"**None of us do, Flo." Musa sat up. Layla followed suit and nodded.**

"**This awkwardness is only a figment created by one's mind as an explanation for moments when a group lacks conversation or another form of noise between them." Tecna's tone softened. "I never wanted to create such a figment."**

"**Well…we might as well give up on…" Stella was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. Stella glanced at the caller i.d. "It's Roxy!"**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- Plotting and Politics

Layla looked at the entrance to the museum and glanced back at Roxy. "Well, how are we going to get our hands on those scrolls?" Roxy had explained everything to Layla and the girls.

"You actually believe this guy? It seems unlikely that a guy you randomly meet at a library can unknowingly be the only person in the universe who can read scrolls of some crazy prophetess." Tecna shook her head. "That and he ,again randomly, takes Roxy to the Museum where the scrolls are located and, tada, he pretends to read the scrolls! Don't you girls see the coincidences?"

"If the scrolls say something about Bloom, shouldn't we check them out? And why would a prophetess predict something about Bloom that turns out to only be readable after she dies? What's the point of the prophecy then?" Stella crossed her arms.

Roxy was quiet the whole time. The Aidan boy must've been confusing to her, Layla guessed. Roxy was excited when she called, but now, with both sides of the spectrum being revealed, she seemed confused.

"Prophecies are a waste of time. There are millions of people throughout the universe who "prophesy" events. How often do you think they are right? And even if they were right, which they surely must not be because it is insane to think one can divine into the future…"

"Divine." Roxy interrupted Tecna.

"I beg your pardon?" Tecna stopped ranting and looked at Roxy.

"Before Bloom died, Maya talked to her about some Divine fairies. Do you remember?" Roxy gazed at the girls. Layla thought back. The name seemed familiar.

"Yeah. I remember!" Stella jumped excitedly. Then she paused. " Uh, what about the Divine fairies?"

"Well, I spent all day looking for information on them. Then I bumped into Aidan and he knew about them. We talked about them. After that, well, he read the scrolls." Roxy clenched her fists. "As coincidental as all these events seem, they were obviously meant to be. I don't know why, but I was meant to run into Aidan, he was meant to read those scrolls, and you girls were meant to come and look for me."

"It's all part of some grander scheme." Musa nodded.

Layla thought about what Roxy said. Was Nabu's and Bloom's deaths part of some grander plan too? If so, what higher power would be orchestrating such a scheme? Why the girls and the Specialists? 

"My database has no information on Divine Fairies. There are a few minor references and related searches, but no exact matches. I'm sorry Roxy. But maybe you misheard what Maya and Bloom were talking about." Tecna said. 

" She couldn't have. Now that I think about it, I recall Maya mentioned some Divine fairies too." Flora glanced at all the girls.

"Yeah. I remember it too. Apparently they healed her or something like that." Musa agreed.

"Aidan knew some stuff about them?" Stella asked Roxy. 

Roxy nodded eagerly. "He told me about them. They're like keepers of destiny, or something like that. They have these counterparts known as the Theistic Wizards, and Aidan claimed they used to come to him and tell him he had an important destiny to fulfill."

"Sounds scary. And fascinating at the same time. I believe this deserves some thorough investigating." Flora smiled.

"Yeah. It may give us an insight on Bloom, before she died, you know." Musa shrugged.

Tecna stuck her nose in the air and crossed her arms belligerently. "This is ridiculous."

"Oh, Tecna. Think of it this way. If Aidan isn't a liar, we'll know just a bit more about the mysteries of the universe. If he is, well, you can reveal him as a big fat fraud." Stella grabbed Tecna's arm and smiled at Tecna. Tecna tried to ignore her, but Layla could see that she was losing the fight.

Finally Tecna sighed. "Layla, you haven't said much throughout this…what do you think we should do?"

Layla paced the sidewalk for a few moments then stopped. "Right. I think this deserves some investigating. Roxy, call Aidan and tell him to sneak out of Red Fountain tonight. He's going to read the rest of those scrolls, whether we get allowed legally or not."

Helia walked into the museum. Riven and Timmy walked up. "Hey. How was day shift?" Helia asked.

"Day shift blows." Riven said with a shrug.

"Riven wasn't even paying attention, so does his opinion really matter?" Timmy shook his head. Helia nodded, sympathetically. "Nothing unusual to report. We did see Roxy with some guy today."

Helia looked at Timmy. "Really. Wow. Stella and Flora will want details when they find out. Maybe you ought to go tell Musa, Riven. She'd probably like to know about Roxy's new friend."

"Whatever. The scrolls are safe. I'm headin' out." Riven stalked out of the museum. Timmy sighed and followed him out. Helia shook his head in amazement. One second the guy was in love with Musa, the next he was shrugging her off. How the hell their relationship worked out was beyond Helia.

Helia walked over to the case holding the scrolls. The scholars were going to examine them tomorrow, so the Specialists had to protect them. After the scholars were finished, they would take them back to Myridia. Helia sighed. He wouldn't get any sleep until late tomorrow night.

The calligraphy on the scrolls was nice, but definitely unreadable and alien to Helia. It would've been really cool to know what the scrolls had to say, what Cassandra had prophesied. Then again, it was really scary to think about too. Most prophecies foretold of tragic and apocalyptic events. That's why prophecies and predictions caused such a stirring.

"Especially these scrolls." Helia mused out loud. Cassandra of Myridia had predicted many things, and they all proved to be true. Helia read that one of Cassandra's prophecies had actually predicted a man would break free of a seemingly unbreakable prison and terrorize the entire magical world. Cassandra had predicted Baltor's escape and his campaign to rule the universe. Cassandra had even predicted that fairy heroes to fight him and win the war. Specifically, Cassandra had predicted about Bloom's victory.

Helia sighed and walked off to do a patrol of the surrounding hallways. He hoped the secrets of the scrolls would finally be revealed. The universe was dying to know what the next terror of the universe would do. Once they knew, they'd all live in fear until it came to pass. Fear can push people to the edge. Reading the scrolls could also cause absolute pandemonium. 

"Just like politics." Helia murmured.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9- Two Souls Meet

Daphne's spirit searched in vain. Where was the source of the light? Why would it beckon for her? She felt drawn to the light.

She'd been sojourning the death realm for…some time. Time here was practically meaningless, with no way of separating day and night, noon and midnight, dawn and dusk. Some time after she'd arrived in the death realm, there'd been a flash of light. Life and happiness filled Daphne's empty spirit. With the flash came a determination to live once more.

Daphne continued to wander in the general directions she'd noticed the flash. Eventually she'd come across the source. She had to. It was all she had left to hang on to. Without that hope, she'd fall into the hopeless state the other souls of Limbo were in.

None of the other souls had been affected by the flash. They all continued their meaningless mourning. Daphne took it as a sign. The flash was her only hope. She had to hang on to hope.

Limbo was like the life Daphne had before her demise. She had basically no contact with the living, she was forced to remain in the dim darkness of Limbo, and she often felt weary. She hated it, and wished for better.

Daphne caught sight of another soul. The soul was wandering in a direction opposite the flow of the masses. The soul's direction was the same as hers, which made it even more peculiar. The soul suddenly stopped and glanced at Daphne. Daphne stared in shock. None of the souls ever made eye contact with one another. She'd tried to converse with them, but they would continue to mindlessly wander, unaffected by her pleas.

The two souls stared at one another for some time. Then the strange soul made way toward Daphne.

"Can you answer me?" The soul asked the question with hints of caution in his tone.

"Yes." Daphne spoke, amazed. She was speaking with another soul! In Limbo! She wasn't as alone as she thought.

"Who are you, and why are you headed in the direction I am?" The soul drilled Daphne with the question, obviously suspicious.

"In life I was called Daphne, princess of Sparks and guardian of the sacred Dragon's Flame. But here, I highly doubt my name has any meaning among the damned dead." Daphne felt life spring in her as she spoke her name and title. Even her name gave her meaning.

The soul nodded slowly. Daphne began to note some of his features, though they were dim. The soul was definitely male and held himself with such a strong presence. His blurred face revealed sharp features such as high cheekbones. "I am headed that direction because that was where I saw the flash of light. It called to me. What of you? What were you once called and why to you sojourn in my direction?"

"My name…back when I was living…" The soul was concentrating hard, trying to recall his past life. "I've been here, for time…my name…" Finally the soul looked up at Daphne. "Back when I was living! I remember! Back when I was living, before I sacrificed myself for the island of Tyr Nan Og…I was called Nabu."

Daphne stared at the soul hard, and finally she saw him. "Nabu? But how are you here in Limbo? Bloom told me of your deed! You should've gone…well, elsewhere."

Nabu sighed. "I don't know. This was where I ended up. I'm traveling in that direction because I too saw the flash. It too called to me."

"Strange. We were obviously destined to meet and that flash is calling to both of us. Nabu it is a sign." Daphne felt excitement. "I think you and I are supposed to live again. Somehow, someway, we must return to our lives."

"But we died." Nabu said.

"Yes, but I believe some higher power has use of us yet." Daphne glanced back at the direction she was traveling in. "We need to find the source of that light Nabu. That source has answers to our questions."

"Well, we don't really have stuff to do." Nabu joked. "I guess we can continue our search for the fireworks display together."

Daphne felt a smile on her lips. "Yes. I suppose we could."

"Daphne, something I think I should mention…I saw a total of two flashes. I take it you're only speaking of one?"

Daphne looked at Nabu. "Two?" Nabu nodded. "Even stranger. Maybe I wasn't here for the first?" Daphne thought about this. Two flashes? She'd only seen one. "We'll have to investigate this."

"That and I used to get periodic visits from some wizards before the first flash. They came to me and told me to hang on." Nabu looked at Daphne.

"Did they call themselves by any names?" Daphne asked.

"No." Nabu looked ahead at the dimness before them.

"I don't know Nabu. I don't know." Daphne looked ahead too, all the while thinking about the meaning of all this. There had to be reason to all this madness and death. There had to be reason.

Bloom stumbled over sharp rocks, trying to escape Lilith. Lilith was trailing behind her, laughing maniacally and throwing large blasts toward Bloom. "You ruined it! Everything was mine! Mine!" Lilith screamed.

"You're mad!" Bloom shouted back.

"Angry! Yes!" Lilith threw more blasts toward Bloom. Bloom threw herself out of the way as the rocks disintegrated.

"No! Crazy!" Bloom shouted, again. This had been going on for maybe three days now, ever since Lilith had caught up with Bloom. Bloom had dragged the woman into the death portal to stop her from destroying Bloom's parents. Now that left Bloom trapped forever in the death realm, forever running from the crazed Lilith, and forever alone. Forever.

"You will die!" Lilith screeched horrendously. A blast knocked Bloom off her feet and Bloom hit the ground hard. Bloom laughed and winced. Something was cracked. "You dare to laugh at me!" Lilith snarled.

"Yes. It's been days! DAYS! Don't you see! Here in the _death_ realm, I'll never die! Never! I tried to explain that to you, but no, you're a nutcase!" Bloom pushed herself to her knees and coughed up blood. "Yuck."

Lilith hissed viciously and prepared to throw another blast at Bloom. Bloom felt her dragon fire burn within her and let it out. Lilith screamed in agony, and was gone. Bloom destroyed Lilith.

Bloom felt tears fill her eyes and she sobbed. She was a monster. It was instinct and she couldn't control it. She would just take and destroy. Take and destroy. She took a life and destroyed a soul. Bloom curled up into a ball and let her eyes close. She was exhausted. She just wanted to die, to let it all go. But her sacrifice left her incapable of doing so.

"At least they're safe." Bloom whispered to herself. "That was all I wanted." The Winx girls, the Specialists, her parents, Sky… they were all safe. With her gone, they probably had no evil to deal with. Riven had been right. She just created trouble. If she'd just played princess like a good girl, she wouldn't have been in this mess.

_Then you wouldn't be Bloom._ Sky's voice rang through her head.

"I don't want to be Bloom anymore." Bloom mumbled, then she fell into unconsciousness.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10- The Prophecy

Musa casually walked down the sidewalk in front of the Magix Museum. She spotted a man exiting the museum building after he'd clearly locked up. Her walking sped up in order to bring the two paths together at one point. They met at that point and she knocked the man's armload of stuff to the ground.

"Oh I'm sorry sir!" Musa bent to "help" pick up the stuff.

"Quite alright miss. I really ought to make two trips but I need to hurry home." The man once more held his stuff in his arms.

"Understandable." Musa said. She watched the man walk away then turned in the direction of the park across the street.

"Got his keys?" Layla asked.

"Yup." Musa pulled out keys and jingled them before the girls and Aidan. She'd gotten pretty good at pick pocketing and Riven would've been proud.

"I don't know." Aidan looked worriedly at the keys and then at Musa. "What if we get caught?"

"We can't get caught." Layla stated firmly.

"Let's go." Stella hurried away from the group, they followed.

They'd chosen to go the illegal route. Aidan didn't want any attention and the girls didn't want to wait for the council to give them permission to see the scrolls. Musa jogged up to one of the service doors. She used the keys and the door opened into a dark hallway.

"Into the darkness we go." Stella entered first, the others trailing reluctantly behind. They wandered until they entered the public areas of the museum.

"Chances are it's still in the showcase." Tecna walked around the main exhibit hall.

"Over here." Roxy and Aidan scurried over to a glass case and peered at it.

"I'd hurry." Musa said nervously as she glanced around the hall. It seemed highly unlikely that the museum officials would leave such important scrolls unguarded.

"Read it." Stella urged Aidan and Aidan nodded.

" She will arise from a realm lost to magic. She will fight the horrific evils of the universe until the day she returns to the realm whose state she triumphed. She will never and can never fail. When she does, the universe will forever be lost. Bloom is the savior the universe has awaited. Bloom will bring peace and prosperity along with her own suffering. To free the fiery savior from the clutches of death, the Company of Light must travel to the end of life itself. Bloom will not alone be saved. Hurry, Company, lest more is lost than seems possible." Aidan read the words slowly and carefully as he deciphered the text.

"Bloom! We'll be able to save her!" Stella looked excitedly at the group.

"We need to hurry! Let's…" Musa was interrupted by a cacophonous alarm. She immediately covered her ears. The other girls were glancing and yelling at one another in attempt to communicate.

"Stop where you are!" The voice rang over the loud alarms. Musa turned and saw the last person she expected to be there, well other than Riven, Timmy, Brandon, or Sky.

Helia stood there at the only exit staring at the girls in disbelief. "What are you doing here?" He shouted.

"Helia! I can explain!" Flora cried out suddenly. Musa noticed Helia's gaze was focused on Flora.

"We've got a really good reason! I promise it Helia!" Flora looked at Helia. Musa saw a pleading look in her eyes as she silently begged him to let them go. Helia's gaze softened.

"Get out of here! Fast. Tecna, you'll have to try take care of the camera's somehow. They're run through a network, so you should be able to jack your way in." Helia stepped out of the way of the exit. Flora ran over and hugged Helia fiercely and he pushed her toward the exit. Flora ran through the exit and the others followed in a rush. Musa stopped and tossed the keys to Helia. Helia raised an eyebrow at her and she ran through the exit.

"You know that Helia is going to get into serious trouble, right?" Stella told Flora. Flora felt her shoulders fall as guilt settled in.

"I know. I hope he won't be hurt or punished." Flora felt like running back to Helia.

"Yo. Tec. Tell me you've worked your magic with those cameras. Heck, I didn't even think about the cameras." Musa said.

"Yes. I've taken care of the cameras. Hopefully Helia has a good excuse for the alarms going off." Tecna gazed at Flora. Flora felt her cheeks flush and her guilt deepened.

"We need to stop worrying about that. What's with the Company of Light traveling to the end of life?" Stella turned the focus of the conversation. Flora then felt grateful toward Stella. Flora's feelings were practically all over the place.

"I don't know." Tecna shook her head. The others had similar looks of confusion and lack of knowing. They fell silent until Roxy finally broke the tension.

"Aidan. You don't have to worry about this." Roxy turned to Aidan. Flora had forgotten that the Red Fountain boy was even with them. "You should return to Red Fountain. Thank-you for your help though."

"No way! I'm going to see this through!" Aidan said with a stubbornness that Flora admired.

"You have no idea what you're about to get into." Layla warned.

" It feels like I need to help. Okay? I think I can help." Aidan insisted.

"Why would you want help? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is going to be?" Tecna stared incredulously at Aidan. Flora was even surprised. Most people would have run the opposite direction after they'd almost been caught doing something illegal. And here was Aidan, basically begging for more.

"Something is telling me, okay? I feel like I can help." Aidan crossed his arms and gazed at all the girls. Flora saw a stoic determination in his green eyes.

"Alright. Tell us how you could help." Stella looked at Aidan expectantly.

"Well, what if I had an idea about the traveling to the end of life?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11- Dismissal and Rendezvous

Riven stared at Helia. "How the hell did you get dismissed from the mission?" He watched as Helia gave an emotionless shrug. "That's not really a dignified answer from the talented poet."

"Riven's right Helia. You never screw up missions. Ever! You're one of the top Specialists in the magical universe." Timmy threw Riven a look of worry that Riven had to snort at.

"People make mistakes." Helia simply said.

"Not Saladin's teacher's pet/nephew." Riven pointed out.

Helia just ignored them and continued to look off into space. They heard the door open behind them and believe it or not, in walked King Sky of Eraklyon and Brandon. "We just heard the news! Helia? You alright?" Brandon asked.

"Mr. Righteous won't slip a damn word. Do you want an attorney?" Riven asked Helia sarcastically.

"Well I am pleading the Fifth, and I very well do know my rights. I suppose a lawyer wouldn't hurt." Helia retorted. Timmy chuckled and received a glare from Riven.

"Dude. We just want to know what went down." Sky walked over and sat next to Helia. Helia fell back into his stubborn silence.

"The museum officials wouldn't tell us anything. They just requested that Helia be removed from the case, for odd behaviors." Timmy said.

"Well Helia is a very odd person. Perhaps he started reciting a limerick about a museum official and it pissed them off?" Brandon suggested. Helia threw Brandon a look that said "seriously?" "Well we wouldn't have to guess if you'd just tell us. We're your friends remember?"

Helia sighed then. "Alright. But you aren't going to take this well. Guaranteed. I may need a lawyer after I get through."

"Whatever dude. Just spill." Riven crossed his arms waiting for the "exciting" tale.

"I was doing my patrol rounds last night after they'd locked up the museum, when suddenly the alarms went off. Immediately I went to protect the scrolls of Myridia. Upon arrival I saw that someone was in the exhibit hall. Well not just one someone, but several someones. I yelled at them, then I recognized them."

"You recognized them?" Brandon looked at Helia. "Friends of yours?"

"Yeah. Friends of yours too. It was the Winx girls. And some guy, who I think may be a Red Fountain student."

Riven felt his jaw drop. " The Winx girls broke into the Museum of Magix? Shit." Riven paced back and forth. "How the hell did they accomplish that?"

"Well, Musa threw me some keys as I let them leave." Helia said.

"You let them leave?" Sky looked at Helia.

"Uh, yeah. You know the girls. They would never do something illegal if they didn't have a good reason for it. Besides, Flora had this look, as though…I don't know."

Brandon didn't say a word, so Riven did. "Dude. They broke into the Museum of Magix!"

"I'm sure they had some good reason. You know it's not like them to do something illegal and they had a Red Fountain boy with them. They're too proud to work with others, if you recall trying to work with them on Earth. It seems like a sort of last resort move." Sky stood up and looked out the window. "We need to find them and get a straight answer out of them."

"How?" Timmy wondered. "They could be anywhere in the universe! And what's to say they'll tell us? Note that they despise working with others, Sky." Timmy pointed out.

Riven saw Helia pull out his cell phone. "We'll go to them." Helia said. "Flora just texted me with a rendezvous point."

They'd been wandering together for what felt like an eternity, if an eternity even did exist. Nabu finally just stopped, which made Daphne look at him. "What if we're never meant to find the source of the flash? What if our seeing it was a mistake?"

"Nabu, we have to hold faith. Faith was all I had when I was Daphne, the nymph of the Dragon's Flame. I had to hope that Bloom would grow up, accept her destiny, and be able to free our family and our people. I didn't know if she would fail or succeed." Daphne reached out and grasped spiritual Nabu's hand. Nabu actually felt it. "We have to keep going, lest we end up like every other soul here." Daphne motioned to the other souls. "Lost and confused."

Nabu nodded and they continued to search. At least they could find out the source of the light. Maybe it wouldn't return them to the lives they once had, maybe it would. But it was something. "Daphne, aren't you afraid of returning as the nymph of the Dragon Fire?"

Daphne gave a slight nod of her head. "Some I suppose. But I've weighed the options. I'd rather be the nymph than a lost soul. At least as the nymph I can watch over my family and go to them with comfort if needed. Here… I'll be nothing at all." Daphne said softly.

"I want to go back to Layla. I left her hurting badly, and I want to go back and tell her I'm sorry. I should've been stronger for her and the fairies of Tyr Nan Og." Nabu closed his eyes tightly. He could still see Layla's face, tears falling, her beautiful teal eyes begging him to hang on.

Daphne nodded again. "I left someone after Spark's destruction." Nabu looked at her in surprise. "I was engaged to prince. I loved him and we were to be married soon. I don't even know what became of him. As a nymph I tried to search for him through my glass, but I could never find him." Daphne looked sadly ahead. "I suppose he died, or perhaps I don't recognize him."

Nabu felt for Daphne then. He never knew Daphne had been engaged. He wondered if anyone knew, even Bloom for that matter. Bloom and Daphne were very close for being so far apart, but would Daphne had told Bloom that much? Nabu was pondering these ideas when something caught his eye. "Daphne. I see something over there!" Nabu ran ahead .

"What is it? Could it be the source of the flash?" Daphne asked following Nabu's bounding stride.

I hope so, Nabu thought to himself as he rushed toward a figure on the ground. As he approached the figure, Nabu stopped and gasped.

"Nabu? What is it?" Daphne hurried to catch up.

"Daphne…Daphne it's Bloom."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 - The Theory of Escape**

**Bloom lay somewhere between unconsciousness and death. She reached for death, begged for it. But something kept pulling her back to that between state. Something kept forcing her to hang on. She hated it. Hated it.**

**Let me go! Bloom's self screamed. Let me die! I can't take it anymore.**__**Bloom felt her spirit crying out in agony, over and over.**

_**Bloom.**_

**The familiar feminine voice called to her, haunted her. Bloom felt her name. Actually felt the name. Hearing her name pulled her further from death. Someone was calling to her.**

_**Bloom, please wake up!**_

**Bloom listened to the voice. This one was also familiar, but male, and it begged her to wake up. The sources of the voices must have been in trouble. She had to help them. She had to wake up.**

**She struggled to get herself to awaken. The voices continued to plead with her.**

_**Bloom, please wake up! Please!**_** The female's voice was thick with concern. Bloom knew she'd heard that voice before. But she couldn't place it. Bloom snapped out of trying to place the voice and focused on waking up. She slowly opened her eyes. "D-Daphne?" Bloom's voice shook. "Nabu?"**

"**Bloom. Oh…you're alright!" Daphne smiled. Bloom just stared at the two ghostly visages before her.**

"**How are you here body and soul though?" Nabu looked at Bloom curiously.**

"**How are you two here?" Bloom sat up, pain wracking her body. "You two are dead. Aren't you supposed to be…elsewhere?" Bloom stared at them. "Have I gone insane? Is that possible in the death realm? Well, I suppose it must be, I mean with all the wandering souls…"**

"**Bloom! You haven't gone insane. It's really us. The souls of Daphne and Nabu." Daphne looked at Bloom.**

"**But why are you here?" Bloom asked again. It just didn't make any sense to her how these two souls, heroes of their own making, ended up trapped in the Death realm.**

"**We don't know. We awoke here and have resided here ever since. Nabu said some wizards told him to wait." Daphne spoke her words carefully.**

"**Almost went insane I tell you. Then I ran into Daphne here and we just hit it off!" Nabu said cheerfully. Bloom had to smile. That was the Nabu she remembered. And Daphne, well Daphne seemed different. Less goddess-like and more…human.**

**Daphne threw Nabu a look. "Yes, we hit it off. Technically speaking we joined forces to search for the source of some flash of light."**

"**Flash of light? Why a flash of light?" Bloom stared at the two spirits. The idea seemed rather silly to her.**

"**Look around. Does it look like light reaches these spirits often? The light was only seen by us, that we know of. We took it as a sign and kinda made it our purpose. And it wasn't any normal light. It filled us with joy, happiness…life." Nabu had a distant look in his eyes, as though he were dreaming of being alive again.**

"**What a light." Bloom mused.**

"**How are you here body and soul?" Nabu repeated his earlier question.**

"**I…Lilith. I was fighting her." Bloom thought back to the events that led up to her imprisonment. "She was fighting with our parents. She had Mom and intended to throw her into a portal that led here. I had to do something. So…I attacked her. Angered her. We became locked in each other's grips and I couldn't break free. So I threw her and myself into the portal and she and I have been trapped her ever since." Bloom shivered as she told the story. The word "forever" kept popping her head.**

"**So where is Lilith now?" Daphne asked Bloom gently.**

"**I…I…Daphne, I destroyed her." Bloom sobbed and hugged herself. Daphne looked at Bloom a look of sadness and sympathy. Bloom cried for a while, and let it all out. Her anguish, her sadness, everything.**

"**Oh, Bloom. Shh." Daphne whispered. Bloom nodded and ceased her sobbing. She had to quit. It was useless and wouldn't help her any.**

"**Daphne. What should I do?" Bloom stared at the spirit of her older sister. Daphne fell silent then. It was Nabu who spoke.**

"**It's obvious isn't it? We get you out of the death realm." Nabu spoke of the deed as though it were both easily and commonly done.**

"**You're kidding me right? It's impossible." Bloom shook her head. "How am I supposed to defy the state of death? It's never been done. Look at all the stories and myths where attempts have been made."**

**Nabu looked Bloom then Daphne. "I've got a theory. If there was one thing I noted about the flashes it was that the second flash was brighter. We assumed it was something here signaling us."**

"**What else could it have been?" Daphne shook her head.**

"**Well, what if it was souls entering Limbo?" Nabu asked.**

"**But souls enter and leave everyday!" Daphne stated.**

"**Not just any souls Daphne. Souls that bear the Dragon Fire flame. You and Bloom. Once yours and Bloom's souls entered the realm, there must've been some magical reaction causing the flashes. Bloom's shone brighter because she entered being both body and soul. All we have to do is find the entrance to the death realm and send Bloom through." Nabu gave Bloom and Daphne a big grin.**

"**Is that even possible?" Bloom asked Nabu.**

"**I dunno! I said it was a theory, which typically means we need to test it. Even so, it is something."**

**Bloom sat thinking to herself as Daphne and Nabu talked about other options. Eventually the two of them came to the conclusion Nabu's theory was the best plan. "What about you two?" Bloom asked quietly. They stopped their chatter and looked at Bloom then. "What will you two do? Just sit here for eternity?"**

"**Maybe that's our unfinished business." Daphne suggested. "Maybe we were supposed to wait in order to help you escape the Death realm."**

"**No! I won't just leave you!" Bloom shook her head then looked at Daphne. "I don't want to lose you. Layla needs you!" Bloom turned her attention to Nabu.**

"**Bloom. We need to get you out of here. Perhaps that will allow us to move on. To go "elsewhere". It's a tad bit selfish of you to want us to stay here forever." Nabu looked at Bloom. Bloom looked down and nodded morosely. She just didn't want it to end like that.**

"**Whatever our fates Bloom, we need to get you back. You still have so much to live for." Daphne smiled kindly at Bloom. Bloom wished with all her heart she could hug her sister.**

"**I love you two." Bloom said.**

"**We know." Daphne stated.**

"**Heck, I had no idea. Sky not living up to his duty as your fiancé?" Nabu joked.**

"**Oh stop, it would you? We get constant jokes from you, nothing else." Daphne said exasperatedly. Bloom looked in surprise at Daphne.**

"**Hey! I live to joke okay?" Nabu protested. He laughed then. "That's funny. I **_**live **_**to joke! Get it?" He chuckled.**

"**You're terrible." Daphne muttered and Bloom just laughed at the two of them.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13- The Book and A Mirror

Sky stared at the Winx girls. They met them at the rendezvous point (which turned out to be the Gardenia Park) as planned. Of course the girls just told them what went on and why it went on. When Stella had gotten to the part about Bloom having a chance, Sky felt hope surge through him. But now everybody was looking at him, wanting him to be a leader.

To lead them to the end of life itself.

Hell. Sky had no idea what that even meant. He was supposed to lead his friends to die? Shit. He'd die himself before he did that to his friends. "What about this end of life stuff? Where in the universe is that?"

Stella looked at Sky. "Well, Aidan here said he had an idea on that." Suddenly the whole group's attention turned to the young wizard. Sky observed the wizard shift nervously.

"Go on." Sky told Aidan. Aidan gave Sky a bit of a smile, then began to speak.

"Well, it's an idea remember. Do you remember how Bloom got into the Death realm?"

Musa frowned. "Yeah, she was fighting off this evil chick and they fell into this portal. But it snapped shut immediately after they fell in."

"How did this evil woman open the portal?" Aidan asked. They group fell quiet, throwing each other looks. "Okay, so obviously nobody knows. But the woman had to have used a spell of some kind."

"Spells that travel to the death realm are one-way tickets." Tecna looked pointedly at Aidan. "And they're not the one-way we want."

Aidan sighed. "Sorry. I guess I haven't studied necromancy enough."

"Heh. That's nothing anyone wants to study. Don't feel bad." Stella said in a falsely cheery voice. Sky could hear the disappointment in her tone though.

"So we've only got a useless prophecy. That's just dandy!" Musa threw her hands into the air, angrily.

"Calm down. We'll think of something." Flora said. Musa just sat on the grassy ground, still irked by the wall they just hit. Sky felt anger too, but as a king he had to know how to control it. Even so, it wasn't fair for them to get good news and not be able to do anything about it.

"We need something like Oritel's sword. Remember how that guy could sense where Oritel's sword was?" Layla asked.

"What about Oritel's Book of Fate?" Stella asked. She glanced around. "That book is supposed to have the fates of Sparks people in it."

"Remember that Bloom's wasn't written last time. Who's to say it will be written this time?" Musa had a good point. Back when Bloom was searching for her parents she looked in the Book of Fate and found that her own destiny hadn't yet been written. Sky remembered how disappointed Bloom had been about that. Then again who'd want to know their future?

"We have to try." Layla said. They all turned back to Sky. Sky knew they were looking for orders from him. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how they were going to get a look at that book. Oritel would surely never let them look at it. Even so…

"Fine." Sky looked at them all. "Layla's right and we have to try. So we're heading to Sparks."

"Not us." Timmy said. "Riven and I have a mission to complete."

"Once we get those damn scrolls delivered, we'll come find you." Riven looked at Sky. "You can count on that." Timmy nodded. Riven spoke again. "I owe the princess one."

Sky nodded and hoped like hell that their new idea would work.

"You want to look at the Book of Fate?" Oritel stared at Bloom's friends who stood before him.

"We have good reason to believe Bloom still has a chance. And we don't have much time to work things out." Sky looked Oritel in the eyes. "Oritel, please."

"What's this good reason?" Oritel asked then. Oritel felt nothing but doubt..

"Well, the Myridian scrolls said that Bloom can be saved, by the Company of Light." Stella said.

"The Myridian scrolls have never been read before. How could you possibly know what it says?" Oritel shook his head. "Bloom's gone and we can never bring her back."

"I read the Myridian scrolls." a boy said. Oritel's eyes settled on him. The boy straightened up immediately. "My name is Aidan and I'm a wizard studying under Saladin. I didn't know I could read them until earlier today. The scrolls talked about how Bloom had done so much and that she had so much yet to do. Those scrolls were written by the prophetess Cassandra, so the chances their right…" Aidan stopped talking then.

Oritel thought this through. Bloom still had a chance. She could still be saved. The idea gave Oritel hope, but Oritel feared the idea of failing his child again.

"Oritel." Oritel's gaze turned to his wife, who stood quietly at the entrance to the throne hall. Bloom's friends had turned toward her as well. "Oritel. Let them see the book."

Oritel looked at his wife. She looked tired, but he saw a new fire in her eyes. Oritel nodded. "Alright. I'll show them the book. But Miriam, don't get your hopes up."

"Oritel. It's a small hope I have to believe in." Miriam said softly.

Oritel led the group to his study. Oritel waved his hands and two bookshelves parted, showing a small room. He walked in and took into his hands the Book of Fate. He handed it to Sky and Sky set it on Oritel's desk. Sky opened it slowly.

"Bartleby." Oritel spoke the name. Bartleby appeared above the book and bowed to him.

"Your majesty." Bartleby said.

"Show us Bloom's chapter." Oritel said.

"Of course." Bartleby waved his ghostly hand over the book. The pages turned and images began to appear. The boys and the Winx all crowded around the book. Finally the pages stopped turning. "Bloom's chapter last ended here. Everything else past it is unwritten."

"What does it show?" Oritel asked.

"This, your majesty." Bartleby waved his hand over the book and an image appeared. Oritel stared at it.

"Oritel." Miriam and Oritel met gazes. Oritel nodded.

"It's a picture of a mirror." Stella said.

"It's Daphne's mirror." Miriam said.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14- Again With the Demons

Bloom stumbled and fell to the ground. Daphne and Nabu stopped and looked at her worriedly. "I'm okay." Bloom mumbled. She got back to her feet and walked past the two spirits in attempt to defy their worries.

Bloom had worries of her own. She believed there was still a way out of this, that much she was sure about. But it was when she got out of the damned death realm that scared her. When she left, her parents hated her for something she'd never done and the universe feared her for her growing strength. Would defying death and returning to reality help her status any?

"Bloom. Maybe we should take a break." Daphne's ghostly form stood in front of Bloom. "We've been wandering for a while now, so you need some rest. You, unlike Nabu and I, are still a living being."

Bloom felt her aching body agree and nodded reluctantly. "Alright."

"I'll, go act as guard." Nabu said. He left the two girls alone.

"He's been a bit nervous. That and he feels a bit threatened about being with women." Daphne smiled. Bloom sat on the ground. Daphne looked at her.

"What?" Bloom asked, annoyed by the fact Daphne and Nabu kept stealing glances at her.

"Bloom, you seem worried or bothered by something." Daphne said.

Bloom hung her head. "Daphne, I didn't tell you everything. Mom and Dad discovered you had been…attacked. They blamed me for what happened to you."

"What! That doesn't sound like our parents at all. They had no reason…"

"Daphne! I don't blame them for anything. They panicked. Mom had reason too. She sensed Dragon Fire had been used. Even so…I'm afraid they'll still be angry." Bloom bit her lip, uncertainty filling her mind.

"No Bloom. After what you did, I'm sure they won't be angry. As you said, they panicked, not only because I was gone, but because you may have done an evil act. Bloom, they probably worried about what they'd have to do to stop you. That would make any parent panic."

Bloom stared at the ground and pondered what Daphne had said. The two remained silent for a time. Then Bloom remembered something. She raised her hands before her and in them appeared Daphne's mask.

"My mask." Daphne stared at the item.

"Yes." Bloom confirmed. The two sisters stared at the mask, now gray and dead.

"Did the magic I put in it help?" Daphne asked.

"No…I didn't know there was still magic in it." Bloom fingered the mask. "I mean, it inspired me to keep fighting Lilith, because I thought about what happened to you. But I didn't really sense any magic."

Daphne stared at the mask even harder then. "I departed the reality and left a powerful magic for you. To help you. I thought you'd use it against Lilith. Perhaps the magic is still there."

"Maybe." Bloom turned the mask in her hands. For a second she felt the urge to put the mask on, when Nabu's spirit appeared out of nowhere.

"We've got company." Nabu hissed urgently. Bloom made the mask disappear and dodged behind a large stone. Nabu looked gravely at Bloom. "I've never seen creatures like these before. I've never seen a living being here before you either, but I don't like the looks of these things."

Bloom snuck a glance back and saw them. She gasped. "Demons."

"Real demons? Why on Sparks…" Daphne stared at Bloom. "How would you know about demons?…Oh wait, never mind."

"Don't mind me…I mean I don't need to know about demons at all." Nabu harrumphed dramatically. Both girls shushed him and turned their attentions back on the demons.

"I ran into them while I was training with the Prima." Bloom explained.

"But why are they here in the death realm? I've never read that they reside here. In fact, demons hate the mourning spirits. They prefer the tortured spirits." Daphne stated.

"They appear to be looking for something." Nabu observed. Bloom caught his pause of thought, then Nabu restated his observation. "Scratch that. They appear to be looking for someone."

"Bloom." Daphne stated with certainty in her voice. Bloom looked at her sister. "They want you because you are alive here. There can't be any living souls in the Death Realm, it just isn't right."

Bloom groaned. "Why can't evil just leave me be? I hate it when bad things and people have a fascination for me."

"We need to get you out of the Death Realm and quickly. If we don't, then those things will surely catch her…and whatever happens after that…" Daphne's voice trailed off. Bloom could fill in the blanks. Simply said, she'd be tortured, killed, destroyed, or become someone's "girl" all of which sucked for her tremendously.

"So then what?" Nabu asked then.

"We need to find some sort of gateway between the Death realm and reality. Maybe we could force her through it somehow." Daphne suggested.

"Sure, but we may have to avoid the huge chance of us accidentally tearing up the space-time continuum." Nabu commented. "Where are those annoying wizards when you need a clue?"

Bloom heard the familiar growl of demon and turned to see them coming for her hiding place. "You guys, maybe we should stop thinking for a while and get away from those nasty demons."

"Right. This way." Nabu led Bloom and Daphne off. Bloom glanced back at the oncoming demon horde, then turned back to follow Nabu.

"Can my life get any worse?" Bloom asked herself.

"You probably just jinxed yourself for life." Nabu said cheerfully.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15- An Heir

Oritel watched as the new Company of Light hurried across the Sparks castle grounds. A new hope had arisen within him, at the insistence of his wife. Miriam stood next to him, gazing longingly. "It's a chance, Oritel." Miriam murmured softly. Oritel nodded.

"I'd go myself, Miriam, but something tells me they have to do this." Oritel saw the group disappear in a flash of light. "Daphne's mirror…I never would have thought." Oritel found he couldn't finish the thought. It simply baffled him how the mirror would even tie in to Bloom's…sacrifice.

"I don't know either Oritel." Miriam said, her voice still soft. She gazed at him then. "Maybe it's nothing. It's just a looking glass. Daphne used it to see the universe. That's it. It doesn't do anything spectacular beyond that."

"But like you said, it's a chance. And I'd rather die than learn I could've helped Bloom, but then I didn't because of doubt or disbelief." Oritel meant that statement too. He'd failed Bloom many time over, and he hated himself even more with each failure. He never told Miriam about this because he knew she'd deny it.

"I pray that the power of the Great Dragon will give Bloom the strength to hang on." Miriam's eyes filled with tears. "She's been there for so long…oh, Oritel!"

Oritel took Miriam's hand into his own and squeezed it gently. Miriam squeezed back, though with a lack of confidence. "She'll make it, Miriam. She's so strong."

"We thought Daphne was strong too, Oritel. When they chose her to be the guardian of the flame…we thought she could handle it. Then the attack on Sparks came, and Daphne wasn't strong enough." Miriam's voice became bitter. "We're terrible parents."

Oritel said nothing to Miriam's last comment. "Maybe it isn't strength or intelligence our daughters needed. Perhaps Daphne didn't fail in her mission. Maybe she understood what was supposed to happen and why."

"These are all speculations that will never be proven true or false." Miriam laughed, the laugh empty and bittersweet.

"Miriam…" Oritel was interrupted by the door to his study opening and in strode the last person in the universe he wanted to see. "Queen Serel. To what do we owe this unannounced visit?" Oritel dropped Miriam's hand and walked to place himself between the Morrcale queen and his wife.

"My apologies, your highnesses, and also my condolences for your loss." The queen tried to show sympathy, but her cold beautiful features couldn't carry out such a human feeling.

"Indeed." Oritel didn't even thank her for the condolences. "So you burst into my private study because?"

Queen Serel smiled sweetly, as sweetly as her features allowed. "Well, your highness, there is a matter of utmost importance that must be taken care of immediately. The Council demands your answer. Although I fought to allow you more time for grieving…"

Miriam snorted in an unladylike manner. Oritel fought sarcastic smile. Serel probably sped up the Council's decision with some pack of lies. "Enough Serel. Just get to what the Council is asking."

"Demanding, King Oritel. Not asking. The Council has noticed that you'd planned to leave all of Sparks to your daughter Daphne at first. Then Daphne died, Bloom disappeared, and Sparks was locked away in the Obsidian realm. We hardly bothered with the matter then, but then Bloom came back from her little safe haven and rather greedily claimed the Sparks throne. The Council agreed it was her right, and so you've had Bloom written as your heiress since. But now with Bloom gone, the time has come for you to choose an new heir."

Oritel stared at the woman before him angrily. The she-demon of a queen had enough gall to come to him and force him to make a decision regarding the heir of Sparks. He wanted to harm this woman so badly, to make her pay for persuading the Council of Bloom being a danger to the universe. Oritel clenched his fist, but then he felt Miriam's warm hand cover it. He unclenched his fist.

"I'd like you to note that there are no relatives of pure Sparks blood who can take the throne. The next in line currently, if you don't have a preference or decision made, is Prince Danwin of the Morrcale realm." Serel smiled sweetly again. Oritel felt Miriam tense next to him.

"Why now? I haven't even been warned of this, I've had no time to think the possibilities through." Oritel needed time. Bloom could still have a chance.

"Your majesty, the Council has demanded an answer. If I can't get an answer from you, then I'll just have to allow the next in line the throne."

"Oh, come off it Serel! You just want your precious son to take over Sparks!" Miriam snapped, anger thick in her voice.

"Quiet Queen Miriam. It is the decision of the supreme rule of Sparks. Not you." Serel spoke calmly and redirected her attention back to Oritel. "Well?"

Oritel took a deep breath. There was no avoiding the demand of the damned Council. And he'd never allow Serel's family the chance at holding an important position in the universe.

_Bloom still has a chance._ Oritel thought quietly to himself. He had to do something and make a decision that would prevent Serel from taking over Sparks and the magical universe. Finally he came to a decision.

"Your majesty?" Serel questioned Oritel, sounding rather cheerful he hadn't spoken yet. "Your decision."

Oritel looked Queen Serel in the eyes and spoke. "Oh yes. You tell the council that I've made a definite decision." And Oritel enjoyed watching all the glee vanish from the Morrcale queen's eyes as he told her his decision.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 - Lake Ephemera

Riven stared at the cool blue waters of Lake Ephemera (_Roccaluce in RAI version, I think. I chose to use the 4kids name because it was the dub I grew up watching_). "So, basically, someone's got to spirit travel to the bottom of this lake?"

"Basically, yeah." Timmy knelt next to the waters.

"Why don't we just swim again?" Riven turned his gaze to the Winx girls who were conferring.

"One, Tecna's monitors say it's an impossibly deep lake with extreme water pressures. Two, Bloom described her visit with Ms.F to Daphne's cave, and it sounded like you couldn't easily get into the cave. It like had no entrance. Three…" Stella shivered. "Three, that water looks freaking cold!"

"Layla? Couldn't you use your powers to take us down there like you did with us on Tides?" Flora looked at Layla. Layla shook her head.

"I would if I could Flora. But this lake is…not so much involved with water molecules. It's more…spiritual." Riven noted Layla had trouble finding words to describe the essence of the lake. Riven agreed completely. The moment he set foot in Light Haven, he felt nothing but the moving of the spirits.

"On that note…who here knows how to spirit travel?" Musa glanced about. Nobody said a word. "Didn't think so."

"So how the hell are we supposed to get down there and get that mirror?" Sky fumed angrily.

"We could start with you not invoking the word hell in a spiritual place." Stella said. "Seriously Sky. Cool it. At the temps you're giving me, I might just jump into the lake."

"No you won't." Musa stated cheerfully.

Stella looked again at the water. "Yeah, you're right. It's still too cold."

Aidan walked up to the clear waters and gazed at them intently. Riven looked the guy up and down carefully. The girls had explained Aidan's purpose and everything, but Riven still didn't understand why he was here. Then Roxy stood next to the guy, and Riven knew. Aidan liked Roxy. Possibly a vice-versa there too. He was the guy with Roxy in the museum.

"Well, one does have to be a pure spiritual being to actually travel the waters. What level of fairy are you girls?" Aidan turned and looked at the Winx girls.

"Believix. Wasn't that obvious?" Stella said.

"So you guys can use fairy dust. What if all six of you girls used your dust on one person to rid them of any dark magic? All six at once should be able to purify the spirit, and manipulate the dust, allowing that person to enter the lake." Aidan looked at them expectantly. Roxy shook her head at him.

"You mean five. I can't use the fairy dust." Roxy corrected him. The group was silent then, the Winx girls obviously pondering the suggestion.

"Well, it may work…"Tecna said after some careful thought.

"The question now is, who do we send into the lake?" Musa turned glancing at each of the group members. "Obviously, we should have the guys here. They don't have any magic to use in the case of an emergency."

"And we can't go. We need to manipulate the dust." Flora frowned. "That leaves Roxy and Aidan."

"I don't want to send either of them alone." Sky said. "Can't we send them both in, then?"

"I suppose…but it may affect the endurance and the time the dust works. But you're right about them not going in alone." Tecna looked at Roxy and Aidan. "Well? Will you two travel down into the lake?"

Riven shook his head. They were sending in the newbie couple. They've had no experience with real missions, and yet they were possible Bloom's only hope. Riven saw determination in Roxy.

"Yes." Roxy said.

"Sure." Aidan shrugged.

Aidan took his first step into the cold water. About him and Roxy was a cloud of sparkling fairy dust they hoped would protect them and allow them access to Daphne's cave. He felt a measure of fear, but beat the unwanted feeling back. He had to do this. He had to help.

Before he knew it, Aidan found himself and Roxy walking down the steep slope of the lake bed. Assorted magical fish swam about them. He saw the light from above playing on the sands below.

"How exactly are we going to know where Daphne's cave is if it has no entrance?" Roxy looked at Aidan. Aidan sighed then.

"I wish I could tell you Roxy. How hard could it be to find?" Aidan kept his eyes peeled anyway. Maybe there'd be some sort of sign. "Ephemera is an actual word you know. It means short lived, or temporary."

"Temporary huh?" Roxy looked about at their surroundings. "It seems pretty set to me."

"Yeah I guess." Aidan sighed and shrugged. " I'm just trying to think what the name of the lake has to do with Daphne residing here." Aidan stopped talking then as he felt a feeling in his gut. He stopped next to the towering rock walls and looked at them. "Roxy, here."

"Ok." Roxy stared at the rock wall before them. "We go in there."

"The dust should allow us to make it through." Aidan held out his hand and tried to place it on the rock wall. Instead his hand went right through. "Like so." Aidan then pushed his way into the rock wall. Roxy followed him.

Aidan stared in awe at what he could see in the cavern. It was dark, so it wasn't much, but nonetheless it was spectacular. "Alright. What do you think the mirror looks like?"

"There!" Roxy pointed. Aidan turned his gaze toward the direction she pointed and he saw it. "It's mounted on the wall." Roxy walked over and grasped the edges of the mirror, slowly removing it. "Alright. We got the mirror, so let's get back."

Aidan grinned at Roxy, then frowned as he noticed something. "Roxy. We need to hurry!"

"What?" Roxy stared at Aidan. She then saw what he'd seen and gasped. "The dust…it's not working as well." Aidan grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the cave.

"Go! Roxy! Swim for the surface!" Aidan yelled swimming. He felt water soaking through the shield of fairy dust and wetting his clothes. Roxy was swimming quickly for the surface when he saw her stop and struggle. He took a deep breath and saw the last of the dust disappear. He swam up to Roxy and grabbed her, kicking hard to reach the surface. Roxy clung to the mirror for dear life. Finally they broke through the surface of the water. Aidan gripped on to Roxy, blinking fiercely in the sunlight. They did it. They got the mirror.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17- The Secret of Daphne's Mask

Bloom leaned back against the cold rock wall. They were stopping again for another rest, even if she insisted she could keep on going.

"Don't be ridiculous! You're hurt and exhausted! Don't fight with me!" Daphne argued. Bloom had never seen this Daphne ever. This Daphne was less spirit and more emotional. Daphne was acting even more…human. And very stubborn.

Nabu flashed before Bloom then. "No sign of those damned demons. That's a plus."

"You just jinxed us!" Bloom teased.

"Eh. Oh well I guess. Hmmm… can the dead get jinxed?" Nabu wondered. Bloom chuckled and closed her eyes. She was grateful for both Nabu and Daphne being there. But she wondered if their helping her would affect them later on. The idea had been bothering her for some time, though she didn't tell them about it. Bloom knew that once she mentioned it they'd only reassure her. They could assure her their reassurances.

"Bloom. I wanted to tell you something Daphne had told me." Nabu said. Bloom opened her eyes then and looked at him.

"What?" Bloom looked at him curiously.

"Well, Daphne talked to me some when we were searching for that flash. She said something that rather…well, it shocked me." Nabu hesitated. "Bloom…Daphne was engaged before she died."

Bloom stared at him. "What?" She felt guilt rise up within her, threatening to make her cry. "She…our parents…they never mentioned…"

"I don't suppose they wanted to. Bloom, I don't think Daphne wanted you to know. I just felt…you should know if she never gets to." Nabu bowed his head. "I don't know…I guess I just felt strongly about this because I was engaged before I died."

"Oh Nabu…" Bloom breathed. The tears were overflowing now. "I've messed up so much. Especially you and Daphne's lives. Daphne had to save me…I gave that damned white circle to Queen Morgana…Nabu. I've had a hand in the deaths of both the people I love. I've ruined the lives of my friends." Specifically Layla. Bloom covered her face. She was ashamed to even be alive.

"Ah Bloom! Don't do that! I didn't want to you to…well… do that. Please stop." Nabu begged. "I hate to see cute girls cry."

Bloom then began to laugh. Nabu laughed with her. Bloom laughed hard and long. Her pain seemed to vanish for mere moments. Nabu continued to joke with her, to work at making her smile. Bloom just shook her head. "How can you be like this and not hate me for it?"

"I know you didn't mean for any of it to happen, Bloom." Nabu smiled broadly. "And you are a very pretty girl." Nabu threw her another smile. "You've done so much for the universe, and you're so hard on yourself for doing your best. That's just ridiculous." Nabu looked up as Daphne appeared.

"I told you to rest." Daphne looked at Bloom. Bloom just shrugged.

"I'm not tired. I told you I can keep going." Bloom crossed her arms stubbornly. Daphne just sighed, then looked at Bloom again.

"Have you been crying?" Daphne asked. Bloom just looked away and blinked rapidly to make the tears disappear.

"No." Bloom stated, though her voice wavered. Daphne hadn't wanted her to know, so she wouldn't let on that she knew. Bloom had to change the subject quick so she summoned Daphne's mask. "What kind of a magic did you use on this?" Bloom asked hurriedly.

Daphne continued to look at her. Then Daphne's gaze then fell to the mask in Bloom's hands. "I…can't recall. I only remember I made it so you'd use it to help defeat Lilith. But with Lilith gone…" Daphne shook her head. "I don't know how you'll be able to use it now."

Bloom turned the mask in her hands and her eyes gazed through the eye holes. It was so beautiful when Daphne had worn it. Bloom then saw something. She looked at the mask hard, her brow furrowed.

"Bloom? What is it?" Daphne's voice echoed. But Bloom heard it like a far off voice as she focused harder on the mask.

"I'm not sure." Bloom murmured. Bloom brought the mask even closer to her face. She saw something through the eyes of the mask. "I see something."

"What?" Nabu's voice asked then. Bloom held the mask up, aiming to hold it up to a source of light. But of course they were in the death realm. There was no light, basically no darkness. Just the gray of eternity. Bloom held the mask before her then, in both her hands. Then she brought the mask up to her face and put it on.

"Bloom?" Daphne called. Bloom didn't hear her. Bloom felt her heart begin to race as she finally identified what it was she had seen in the mask.

"Sky!" Bloom cried out.

Sky held the mirror carefully in his hands. The reflective surface shined as he held it. Bloom's only hope, everything had something to do with this mirror. Honestly, Sky's future was intertwined with this inanimate object. It would bring the love of his life back.

He hoped.

"This is good. We've found the next piece of the puzzle." Tecna looked excitedly at the mirror. Sky nodded.

"That's great and all…but now what?" Stella asked the question everyone was thinking about. So they'd found the mirror. How would it help them get Bloom back?

"Maybe it's a portal?" Musa suggested.

"Possibly. Mirrors are most often used for creating magical portals. But what would it be a portal to?" Tecna asked.

"The death realm?" Roxy suggested.

"No. Daphne wouldn't have a portal to the death realm. She was a nymph of the dragon fire. Her parents specifically said Daphne's mirror was a seeing mirror." Aidan pointed out. "Seeing mirrors are used to gaze at and search moments in the universe. Maybe it's supposed to show us something?"

_Sky!_

Everyone jumped as the voice rang out clear. Sky looked around, then looked at the mirror. He cried out.

"Bloom!"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18- Racing Time and Overcoming the Invincible

Layla stared in amazement and felt a sudden elation. "Bloom! You're alive!"

"Yup!" Bloom laughed, her laugh sounding happy and nearly carefree. Layla would have thought she was in a happier place if not for the visible pain and exhaustion on Bloom's face. It was still visible despite the mask Bloom wore. Now that Layla thought about it…

"Bloom? Isn't that Daphne's mask?" Layla asked then.

"Yeah. I noticed that too." Stella said. "How?"

"I grabbed Daphne's mask before I fell into the portal. I learned that Daphne had left some magic for my use before she died. I put the mask on, and well, now I can see you guys! Oh you have no idea how good it is to see you!" Bloom's eyes filled with tears.

"You too! Oh Bloom! We're going to get you out of there! We will I promise!" Flora placed her hand gently on the mirror.

"Yes! I can see them! In reality!" Bloom said.

"Uh…Bloom. We know that." Sky said, a quizzical tone arising in his voice.

"No! Really! The mask's magic is allowing me to communicate with them!" Bloom stated, obviously excited.

"Bloom? Who are you talking to?" Timmy asked then.

Bloom redirected her attention to the people in reality. "Oh, yeah…ummm. Ok you guys. There are spirits with me in the death realm."

"Really? Who'd have thought?" Riven said sarcastically.

"Whew. For a minute there I thought Riven had died." Bloom feigned worry. "You wouldn't be so sarcastic if I told you what spirits specifically."

"Bloom. Please, enlighten us. What spirits are there with you in the death realm?" Riven smirked. Bloom rolled her eyes.

"Nabu and Daphne." Bloom said quietly. The entire group of rescuers fell silent. Layla felt her heart drop. Nabu. Her love was with Bloom…in the death realm. Bloom's gaze fell to Daphne. "Yes Layla. He's helping to guide me through the death realm. Daphne is also. They're trying to get me out." Bloom's gaze softened. "Layla. He misses you so much."

Layla felt tears fill her eyes. "I miss him too." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "We need to get you out of there Bloom."

"I don't even know where to start. We're hoping to find some sort of door out, but the chances of a door out…" Bloom fell silent. Every one of them were thinking it then. Escaping death was impossible. Not one person in the universe has ever gone to death and returned, alive.

"Well, honey! Add escaping death to your list of achievements! We're getting your butt out of the death realm!" Stella smiled brightly.

"Hopefully we bring out more than your but though!" Roxy added.

"Leave it to Stella to forget about the rest of her." Musa yelped as Stella lunged for her. Bloom laughed again.

"Bloom. I won't rest until you're back." Sky looked at the mirror. Layla noted the determination in his eyes as he spoke. Layla recalled making a similar promise for revenge. Guilt filled her mind at those thoughts, but she pushed it away. Now wasn't the time for worry. Now was the time for action.

"I love you Sky. But if you do something stupid enough to get yourself hurt, I'll get myself out of the death realm and kick your ass." Bloom stared at Sky. Layla had to laugh. Bloom had love in her expression, but total harshness in her tone.

"Well why didn't you say so?" Riven said. "Sky let's go get you drunk. Then we'll take you to volunteer as a bungee cord tester."

Bloom glared at Riven. "You know what I mean."

"They've got a fascinating love, huh?" Aidan commented.

"Who was that?" Bloom asked.

"That was Aidan." Sky turned bringing Aidan into view of the mirror. Aidan moved tentatively toward the reflective glass. Bloom eyed him.

"Hi Aidan! How have you come to join this group?" Bloom smiled warmly.

"Well, uhh, I read some scrolls that led us to finding Daphne's mirror." Aidan said. Layla heard a measure of awe in his voice. He was impressed by Bloom.

"Wow. I guess I owe you a thanks, huh?" Bloom said cheerfully. Aidan said nothing. Instead, Tecna spoke.

"Bloom, he's done far more than that. He was somehow able to read the Myridian scrolls, he suggested how we should go about looking for you. Bloom, he's contributed a lot to this mission." Tecna sniffed, annoyed by something. "He's just too modest to speak up. He's even met the Theistic wizards apparently."

Bloom started at this statement. "The Theistic wizards? You've met the Theistic wizards?"

"Yes." Aidan said, startled by Bloom's interest.

Bloom said nothing for a time. Finally she spoke. "What did they tell you? You understand it has to do with your destiny?"

Aidan nodded. "I understand. I know they're warning me of my destiny. With the most obscure and peculiar of hints." Bloom gave Aidan a smile. She understood what he meant. "The Theistic wizards told me I'd help to do the impossible. To overcome the invincible. To help another prove herself."

Bloom gave a small smile. She looked at Aidan then, her eyes sparkling. "Thank-you. Thank-you so much Aidan." Bloom whispered. Then it made sense to Layla. Aidan's purpose was to help get Bloom out of the death realm. Aidan played a key role in getting Bloom free. Bloom would overcome the invincible, death. Only one part of Aidan's destiny continued to confound Layla. How would he help another prove herself?

Layla was jerked out of her thought from Bloom's sudden movement. Bloom was glancing behind her, looking at something. "I'm sorry you guys!" Bloom whispered fiercely. "I've got to go!" Suddenly Bloom gave a yelp and disappeared from the mirror.

"Bloom!" Sky yelled. "Bloom!"

"Something attacked her! Something cut her off!" Stella stared at the mirror.

"We need to get her out of there! ASAP!" Tecna looked at everyone.

"Guys. Remember the prophecy. Bloom doesn't have much time before its too late and destiny shifts. No destiny is set." Aidan closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Not even a destiny prophesied by Cassandra of Myridia."

"Then we hurry." Sky said, his voice scary calm. Layla nodded.

"Let's go get Bloom." Riven said.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19- Death Door Keepers**

"**How do we go get Bloom? We don't have anything but this mirror!" Stella stared angrily at the reflective glass. Roxy felt a similar frustration. They had no clues, no ideas, and, unfortunately, no guidance. Nobody had ever escaped the death realm, so who would they ask about escaping the death realm? Roxy then thought of something.**

"**Guys…isn't there some creature in the magical universal mythology that presides over death?" Roxy gazed at the group surrounding her. "I mean you have the death realm. Does it have any ruler? And inhabitants?"**

"**The spirits would be the inhabitants. But you have a good point. Think of the Omega dimension. There are snake-dragon guardians that prevent the prisoners from escaping." Tecna said.**

"**But we don't want Bloom to not escape. We want Bloom to escape." Flora pointed out.**

"**Yes, but logically speaking, there would have to be some Keepers of doors to death. Understand that some spirits do come back from Limbo, or elsewhere." Tecna looked at Musa.**

"**You're talking about ghosts and guardian spirits." Musa finished Tecna's line of thought. "There's bound to be a gate or door that they have to go through. And such ancient doors or gates will need a keeper of some sort. Another more predominant spirit perhaps?"**

"**Brilliant!" Timmy exclaimed, causing Tecna to blush. Roxy smiled at this, but then frowned.**

"**Umm. Where would we find these keepers? They definitely won't be easy to find." Roxy mused.**

"**I think they'll be easier to find than you think." Aidan grinned suddenly. Roxy looked at him. "Think about it. Death door keepers would have to be around places where dead are and where spirits depart." **

**Roxy's eyes widened. She didn't want to think about what Aidan was suggesting. "So you're saying…"**

"**Yeah." Aidan turned toward the group of waiting people. "I think our best bet on finding a death door keeper would be going to a cemetery. I say we go out to one of the ancient cemeteries after dark and see what we can find." The group remained silent after that statement. Roxy felt goosebumps crawl up her spine. Cemeteries always gave her the creeps. At least at night, they did. In the day time they seemed rather peaceful and all. But at night…well there was something mysterious about them.**

"**It's the only plan on the floor." Sky said slowly. He nodded toward Aidan. "I guess we'll have to go with it."**

"**That's all we've got? Go play ghost in the graveyard while Bloom is forced to flee demons in the death realm?" Riven stared at the group incredulously. "Is that seriously all we've got for a plan?"**

"**Have a plan handy Riven? We sure as hell could use it." Sky said coldly. Riven and Sky looked at one another, staring each other down. Finally Roxy pushed between the two boys.**

"**Oh come on! We can't keep picking fights like this or else we'll never rescue Bloom! Now grow up fast or I'll make you!" Roxy clenched her fists angrily. Riven constantly kept picking fights with people and Sky would immediately decide to have a stupid staring contest with him. It was driving poor Roxy up a wall! "It's our only plan Riven. Unless you've got something more Einstein, shut-up. Girls! Open a portal for crying out loud and stop staring at me as though I've completely lost it!" Roxy ground her teeth. "Today would be nice for Bloom's sake!" The girls transformed and called for their Zoomix wings while the guys kept throwing nervous glances at Roxy. "If your going to make me go to a darn cemetery, the least you can do is get it over with quickly." Roxy muttered.**

**Flora shivered as she peered around the graveyard they'd chosen. The graveyard was on Sparks, ironically, but it seemed to have a feeling of power radiating from it. The power was probably due to the fact that the greatest Sparks rulers and royalty were buried here after they died. Did the Dragon Fire power really leave the it's bearers after they died? Sure didn't feel like it to Flora.**

**Huge headstones rose up from a dense mist that shrouded the grounds. Classic graveyard scene. All it was missing was a few zombies and other evil creatures of the night and bingo, you had Flora's nightmares. Flora tripped over a low lying monument and fell. Helia grabbed her hand and pulled her up.**

"**Watch yourself." Helia muttered. He was scanning the mists carefully, Flora noted. He was getting a bad feeling about this.**

"**No moon. Shit." Stella swore angrily. "I hate it when the moon doesn't shine."**

"**Me too." Musa murmured. She turned about in a circle. "Hello? Mister Death Door Guy? You, like, here?" Musa paused for mere seconds. "Nope. Okay. Let's go home!" Musa said cheerfully. "Maybe he's a daytime person and we should like come back when the sun is shining!" The group all turned to give her annoyed looks, but jumped as an ominous wind blew around them.**

"**Yikes! Wh-what's that!" Stella squeaked.**

"**I dunno!" Musa yelped.**

"**Boys! Be prepared for trouble!" Brandon called. Flora saw the boys bring out their swords. The wind grew exponentially stronger and the boys lost their weapons. Flora felt herself get lifted off the ground and screamed. She heard other various cries and outbursts from the rest of the group and knew that they were all being taken. By whom was the question though.**

**Flora was thrust into darkness. She screamed out for her friends, but heard nothing from them. Whisperings could be heard and Flora wanted to cover her ears.**

_**You're all alone death. Why cry out? It's useless.**_** All the whispering voices cackled and Flora was about to scream again when she felt a hand grab her own. Suddenly she was pulled from the darkness and she found herself standing on the ground. She saw Aidan let go of her hand. "You alright?" Aidan asked gently. Flora gave him a small nod. Everyone else stood around in the dark gloom and glanced at her uneasily.**

"**Welcome!" A commanding voice called from the other side of the chamber they stood in. "To the Silver Kingdom." Flora stared along with the rest of her friends. A man stood there with two other figures, a woman and a hideous creature. All three of the people looked cruel and evil.**

"**The Silver Kingdom? Y'all wannabes of the Golden Kingdom or what?" Stella asked obnoxiously.**

"**We're the keepers to the Death Doors and Realms. I suggest you show a bit more respect."**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 - The Deal

"What makes you any different from the Golden kingdom then?" Stella asked.

"The Golden Kingdom deals with harmonizing the universe of the living. We deal with the passage between the living and the dead, though it may not always be work of harmonization." The witch cackled viciously. Stella shivered.

"Alrighty. So you've got our respect. Will you help us out?" Stella asked. The creepy trio was freaking her out, but she was willing to be civil if it meant helping Bloom. The others remained quiet around her, so obviously she had to do all the talking.

The wizard looked Stella up and down then glanced to his two companions. The demon growled and the witch snickered. "We may be able to. For a price of course." Stella nodded. It had been the same with the Golden Kingdom. Though Stella was most certain these people would return the sacrifices. Stella shivered again.

"What kind of price?" Tecna finally spoke. She was even unnerved by these people, and Tecna wasn't typically unnerved by people.

"Yeah. Are you the classic 'I want your first born' type of price or do y'all have something original?" Stella said sarcastically.

The witch laughed maniacally again, and Stella clenched her fist. "What have you got of value?" the witch asked.

"How will you help us first? Will you bring our friend out of the death realm?" Stella asked suspiciously.

"We will help you. But we won't bring her back." The wizard said calmly.

"What do you mean! You are the Keepers of the Doors of Death!" Stella's voice became shrill as her frustration heightened.

"Hence why we won't tamper with them to free the girl. We won't jeopardize our positions of power by personally fiddling with mortal affairs." The witch cackled again, and Stella had to restrain herself from tackling and strangling her. Her laugh was absolutely annoying.

"Then what use is our sacrifice!" Layla snapped.

"We'll give you a spell that will open a temporary door to the death realm. Hopefully, the girl will find her exit." The wizard said with disinterest.

"A spell." Layla said.

"It's more than you've got now, admit it." The witch smiled coyly.

Stella sighed. They were right about that much. All they've really done so far was confirm Bloom was still alive and that she was definitely trapped in the death realm. Other than that, they had nothing. "What do you think?" Stella turned to her weary friends. They all gazed at her with their answer clear in their expressions. There was no point in stopping now. Stella turned back to the trio and gave their decision verbally. "We'll take your offer. Now what do you want from us?"

The wizard, witch, and demon remained quiet for a time. Then finally the wizard. "When the princess of Sparks returns from her eternal prison, something else will return with her. Is that deal enough for you?" The wizard asked.

Stella stared at him. "That all?"

The wizard looked at her funny. "What else would we want?"

"I thought you'd want my face or something. Never mind that we'll take your deal." Stella looked back at the group behind her and smiled. They were so close to freeing Bloom.

"Here it is." The wizard waved his hands and a scroll appeared before Stella . Stella took the rolled parchment into her hands, cradling it carefully. 

"You may want to hurry. Not too long ago we were forced to send a pack of demons to destroy the girl. Can't have living beings roaming about the realms of the dead now can we?" The witch cackled and Stella felt her fear and frustration combo peak. But before Stella could verbally attack the annoying woman, the group found themselves once more standing in the ancient Sparks graveyard.

Bloom continued to run, the demons snapping at her heels. She couldn't give up now. Her friends hadn't given up on her as she first thought and Bloom still had a chance. No she wasn't going to give up now. She would fight until her destruction, or hopefully until she was reunited with her beloved friends and family.

Nabu appeared next to her. "Keep moving don't stop!"

"I wasn't planning on stopping for tea!" Bloom said angrily.

"They're right behind you Bloom!" Daphne warned her for like the tenth time. Bloom wanted to scream angrily, but that would require her wasting her precious breath. No, she would just keep running until opportunity or extreme exhaustion happened. Bloom just prayed that opportunity would happen first.

Bloom just focused all her angry thoughts and happy thoughts on her running. She had so much to be happy about. She'd gotten contact from her friends. They told her they were working nonstop on freeing her. She had Daphne and Nabu there with her, supporting her even if their situations were worse than Bloom's. Bloom had even gotten to see Sky again. And Bloom told him she loved him. Bloom felt tears prick in her eyes and shook her head. No time for crying. Just time for running like hell.

Bloom looked ahead of her and felt her heart practically stop. Far ahead Bloom could see more demons running straight for her. Bloom's heart began beating again, but in erratic rhythm. Fear was filling Bloom's mind now as she saw there was obviously no way to escape both packs. She was surrounded.

Exhaustion finally caught up and overpowered Bloom's will and Bloom's gait faltered. She tripped and fell to the ground, hard. She just lay there weakly as both hoards of demons surrounded her indefinitely, decimating her last ounces of hope.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21- Complications

Musa watched Stella quickly unroll the spell. The group had gathered around her, urging her to hurry and read the spell. Stella had finally completely unraveled the parchment, but Musa felt all her hope disappear when Stella frowned. Dread took hope's place. "What is it? What's wrong?" Musa snatchedthe spell from Stella. She read the words then cussed. "Shit."

"What?" Sky demanded.

"They gave us the spell, but they didn't tell us we'd need to collect reagents!" Musa stared angrily at the parchment. She felt like tearing the parchment to shreds, but she didn't.

"What reagents? Musa come on! Tell us!" Tecna said.

Musa reread the spell carefully. The dread grew as she read the names of the reagents needed. "From what I can tell we'll need a staff of portal capabilities, a looking glass of seeing, and an artifact blessed by a creator power." Musa shook her head. "Where the hell are we going to get all that? And quickly?"

"I should've known it wouldn't be that easy." Stella mumbled. Musa saw Stella cover her face and begin to cry. Musa handed the scrolls off to Tecna and grabbed Stella's hands.

"Stella. We can do this. None of us saw it coming." Musa tried to comfort Stella. Stella shook her head and pulled away from Musa.

"No. Musa! Bloom's stuck in limbo with a crap load of demons after her and you all could see she was weakened already. She doesn't stand a chance!" Stella sobbed. "And now we've got to gather those damn rare ingredients! She'll die before we can find any of them!" Musa just hugged her fiercely, her mind racing. There had to be a way. Musa could see Sky clenching his fists and looking at the ground. The others were all looking sadly away, the failure sinking in. Everybody but Tecna, who was reading the scrolls fervently. A grin slowly spread across Tecna's face.

"You guys! We've already got one of the reagents!" Tecna said excitedly. "Daphne's mirror! It's a mirror of seeing!"

"Good thinking Tecna!" Timmy said.

"But what about the staff with portalling capabilities?" Musa asked.

"Nabu's staff!" Layla looked up. "Nabu used his staff to open portals all the time! Remember? It has portalling capabilities!" Layla's excitement fell some. "I'd only have to go retrieve it." Layla added.

"Excellent." Tecna said.

"And the artifact blessed by a creator power?" Roxy questioned.

"Well obviously it would have to be an item that the Dragon Fire had blessed right? I mean, a creator power? The Dragon Fire created the magical universe." Musa pointed out. "But I don't know of any such artifacts."

"Even if we knew of any, they're artifacts. No realm would give them up because of their sacred natures. It'd be useless." Roxy shook her head. "I believe we just hit a dead end."

"You guys can't just give up like that!" Musa turned her attention to Aidan. Aidan crossed his arms. "You are all the great Company of Light! You've faced countless evils and you're supposed to face countless more! You've never given up at a dead end before. Never! In the end, you've always won the wars, if not the battles. There's got to be some artifact out there we can use."

"Aidan! This spell will destroy any artifacts we use. I'll guarantee you that there isn't a single realm that will give up their sacred artifact for Bloom. Practically the entire universe feared her. They won't want her back." Tecna argued. Aidan said nothing, but Musa could read frustration in his eyes. The boy wasn't giving up. Not yet.

"Alrighty so we're giving up then? I'll just head on home." Riven said with sarcasm.

"I'll never give up on Bloom." Sky growled dangerously. Riven looked at him unamused.

"Great. Cuz I was about to call you the worst fiancé in the realms for abandoning her. The newbie is right though. The Company of Light ain't a bunch of quitters. Now think. Is there an artifact that the Great Dragon blessed a realm with that we can use?" Riven asked.

"What about the Ring of Solaris?" Stella said quietly. The group turned toward her, surprised.

"Um. Stella. It was destroyed remember. We all saw it shatter." Brandon said gently. Stella shook her head furiously.

"Not destroyed! Shattered! There were shards of it! It wasn't destroyed because the pieces of the damn thing still existed." Stella looked darkly at Tecna and Aidan. "So? Can the Ring of Solaris still work?"

Tecna was quietly wringing her hands. Musa knew her mind was racing, trying to find the answer. Finally Tecna mumbled an "I don't know." Stella's gaze left Tecna and turned to Aidan. Aidan shifted nervously under Stella's gaze.

"Maybe. If you've still got the pieces." Aidan said.

"I scattered them under a tree outside the Sparks palace. They're probably still there." Stella said, her eyes flashing. "If the wind or rain hasn't carried them away."

Aidan fell into deep thought. "It could work. If not, we'll make it work."

"I'll go retrieve Nabu's staff." Layla said quietly. She then transformed and portalled using her Zoomix wings.

"The mirror should be on Sparks with Oritel and Miriam." Sky said. He was a bit less tense, but that was easily replaced with anxiety.

"So we'll meet up with Layla on Sparks and cast the spell under the tree." Roxy confirmed.

Musa turned back to Stella. "Your ring will cast one more spell for you Stella." Musa whispered. Stella's gaze softened and the two of them embraced. Musa felt Stella's tears against her cheek and hugged the distressed girl tighter. The life of Stella's best friend was on the line, and everything depended on Stella's shattered ring.

"Not just for me Musa. For Bloom too." Stella pulled away from Musa and Musa watched her gaze into the dark moonless sky. "May the stars allow it to be a successful spell." Stella whispered.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22- The Spell

Sky held the mirror in his hands. Next to him, Layla was clutching Nabu's staff for dear life. Before them stood Stella with the scrolls. She nodded to Sky and Sky stepped forward with the mirror. He threw the mirror to the ground and watched as the reflective glass shattered into bits.

"Pieces of the seeing mirror." Flora murmured and she bent to pick up as many of the shards as she could.

"Pieces of the blessed artifact." Stella began picking smaller shards of what used to be the Ring of Solaris. When the two had picked up as many of the pieces as they could, they stood back to back to one another, Stella facing north, Flora facing south. Sky glanced at the shards in each of the girls' hands. The looking glass shards were as black as obsidian. The Ring of Solaris shards were shining pure silver.

Aidan began reading the words of the spell. Of course they had to alter the spell because of the broken ring. "To the insatiable death we offer these reagents. We give you the shards of a seeing mirror. We give you the shards of an artifact blessed by the Great Dragon." As he spoke of each reagent, Flora and Stella each took a step forward. "And we give you a staff of portals." Layla walked forward and stabbed the staff into the ground between Stella and Flora. She stepped back to where she stood next to Sky. Aidan continued. "May the reagents sate death. Allow Bloom safe passage back to reality. Allow her to leave the realm of the dead. Release her!" As Aidan shouted the last words Stella and Flora threw up their handfuls of shards. Sky held his breath as they all watched the shards rain down.

Time passed. Flora and Stella were shifting uncomfortably where they stood. Sky felt all his hope vanish. That was it then. It didn't work. Bloom was never going to come back. Sky bit down hard to prevent tears.

"Yikes!" Stella shrieked and Sky saw a huge flash of light. Flora and Stella both went flying. The shards on the ground were hanging suspended in the air, glittering from the light coming from Nabu's staff.

"It's working." Sky turned and saw Miriam, Oritel, and Queen Serel standing and staring in awe.

"What is going on?" Serel asked nervously.

Suddenly there was a female screaming. Sky looked and saw all the Winx Club were staring in awe, but none of them were screaming. . The screaming ceased, but then continued again, this time with words.

"Leave her alone!" The female voice screamed.

Bloom stared at the horde of demons rushing at her. 'So this is it.' Bloom thought calmly to herself.

"Bloom I'm so sorry." Daphne sobbed. "You weren't supposed to die like this. I'm the worst older sister ever."

"Daphne. Shut. Up." Bloom glared at her ghostly sister. "You were the best, damn it. You died for me!"

"Well, nice knowing you living. Maybe you'll join our spiritual posse here in Limbo?" Nabu said, trying to put a positive spin on things. Daphne just threw him the glare of the century. Bloom was about to snap at them when a leading demon jumped on her. There was a bright flash of light, and Bloom heard Daphne screaming…in pain? Bloom didn't linger on the thought too long because she was being mauled by a demon. Bloom struggled with the creature, trying to avoid its claws and teeth. Daphne's scream ceased for mere seconds, but Bloom heard her shout. "Leave her alone!" Daphne screamed.

Bloom felt the demon jump off her and go running off in a direction. Bloom fixed her focus on the damn thing and followed in hot pursuit. She threw herself at the demon and the two went rolling. Bloom felt the Dragon Fire burning deep within her again and she didn't care one bit when she let it go. The demon had to go and it had to go now!

Then the demon was gone. "Well then." Bloom gasped and lay there on the ground.

"Bloom!" Sky's voice rang out. Bloom turned her head and saw Sky running toward her, the guys and the girls after him. Bloom sat up as Sky fell to his knees next to her and took her into his arms. Bloom hugged him back fiercely, fighting her exhaustion and pain. "You're alive." Sky murmured into her hair. Bloom smiled weakly. She could see the guys and the girls celebrating. Stella had tears shining in her eyes. Roxy was happily hugging Aidan, hee hee. And so on.

Then a movement caught Bloom's eye. She pulled away from Sky and stared in awe. "Daphne." Bloom breathed. Everybody turned their gazes to where Bloom was looking. To where Daphne stood. Alive.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23- Things Turn For the Best**

**Daphne gasped as she felt Bloom's arms wrap around her and hug her tightly. Daphne was breathing hard, savoring each breath she took. She could feel her heart pounding, beating. Daphne was alive. Bloom dropped her and Daphne was pulled into a tight hug by her mother. She was alive.**

"**How?" Miriam stared in wonder at Daphne. Daphne shook her head, speechless.**

"**The items you used in the spell." Oritel turned toward the group of people crowded behind them. "One of them was Daphne's mirror. Perhaps it's essence allowed for her to return to reality…real."**

**Bloom laughed and hugged Daphne again. "It doesn't realy matter! She's alive! My sister is alive!" Bloom said smiling.**

**Oritel turned toward the group of royals behind him. "I give you the next heiress to the Sparks throne. Princess Bloom of Sparks."**

"**What?" Daphne and Bloom turned toward their father simultaneously. "I know I'm next in line for the throne." Bloom said, confused.**

"**You disappeared, so I had to state Daphne was the next Sparks heiress to the Queen of the Morrcale realm. The Council demanded that I give an answer today, and I was planning on saying the heiress was Daphne. They'd have to prove Daphne was indeed dead in order to deny her the throne. I was hoping to allow more time." Oritel hugged both Daphne and Bloom. Daphne wrapped her arms about her father and hugged him back tightly. "I guess that time wasn't really needed." Oritel added.**

**Daphne watched as Bloom ran over and hugged all her friends. They all seemed so overjoyed, a few of them crying happily. Bloom stopped before a dark skinned girl, Layla, Daphne remembered. Bloom turned around and looked at Daphne. "Daphne. What happened to Nabu's soul?"**

"**I'm not too sure." Daphne said and stared at the ground. She saw a piece of glass and bent to pick it up. As she held the glass she saw a flash of purple.**

"**I hope he moved on to elsewhere." Bloom murmured as she hugged Layla tightly. Daphne continued to stare hard at the glass in her hand, trying to identify what she was seeing.**

"**Bloom!" Daphne looked up at Bloom, tearing her gaze away from the glass. The two sisters' eyes met. "I think…"**

"**No…" Bloom turned to Roxy. "Roxy! We need to get to Tyr Nan Og!"**

"**What?" Roxy said confused. "Bloom! You need to rest. You must be totally exhausted and beaten up."**

"**Yeah, yeah I am. But this is very important!" Bloom hopped excitedly from one foot to the other.**

"**I guess…" Roxy trailed off and pulled a white ring off her finger.**

"**Why are we going to Tyr Nan Og?" Riven asked. Bloom looked up and met Daphne's gaze again. Daphne looked down at the glass in her hand and she saw a flash of tan.**

"**To greet a hero." Daphne said.**

**Bloom smiled as she watched Nabu and Layla embrace ecstatically. She leaned against Sky and he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "The staff's essence must've allowed Nabu's soul to return to his body." Bloom said.**

**Sky nodded. "Maybe. Or else some higher power thought to give both Nabu and Daphne another chance."**

**Bloom entwined her fingers in Sky's. "Sky. I really missed you." Bloom whispered. She watched the other guys and girls all celebrating Nabu's return to the living. Layla's eyes met Bloom's, and Bloom smiled. Layla was clinging to Nabu's arm tightly. Obviously she was not going to let go.**

"**I could barely go on without you." Sky murmured and he leaned in and kissed Bloom gently. "Please don't ever do that again." Sky looked at Bloom, his eyes pleading.**

"**You know I can't promise that." Bloom shook her head, a sad smile on her lips. "I've got a universe to protect. And if that's what it takes Sky, that's what I'll do."**

**Sky was about to say something when Nabu walked over. Layla reluctantly let him go. Bloom dropped Sky's hand and rushed over and hugged Nabu. "Congrats on defeating death." Bloom said.**

"**Heh, heh. I'm almost as invincible as you." Nabu grinned. "But I'd rather not do that again. Returning to the living state was painful. Tell me, am I decomposing anywhere?" Bloom laughed and shook her head.**

"**No Nabu. The Tyr Nan Og fairies preserved your body well." Bloom said smiling. "Somehow they knew you'd come back. Somehow they knew."**

"**That must be what the Silver Kingdom trio met." Roxy said. Bloom looked at her funny. "Well, we went to find the Keepers of the Death Doors and they turned out to be these magical beings in the Silver Kingdom. They said that if we used that spell something would come back with you." Roxy explained, smiling brightly. "I think they may have meant Nabu and Daphne." She hurried away to go talk with Aidan. Bloom stared after her.**

"**The Silver Kingdom." Bloom whispered the name. She couldn't shake off a bad feeling she was getting about the group. Something just didn't seem right. Why would Keepers of the Doors of Death let her and two spirits leave the Death realm? Wasn't it their job to ensure no spirits or beings would leave? Bloom forgot her questions as Stella came over to her and dragged her over to the group who were chattering away and laughing. She joined them in their reverie, happy to be alive.**


End file.
